After The Giant War
by ElmoDaHorse
Summary: Percy and Annabeth are still scarred from their time in Tartarus. How will the Camp cope with the slightly sombre mood the two are emitting? Well, read and find out! R&R please! T for possible future chapters, I'm not sure yet...
1. Restless nights

**Hiya, peeps! *gasp* I'm editing! It's a miracle! Yeah, sorry if this somehow sends an alert to you and you assume I'm updating. Ugh. Anyway, my reasons? Someone who I shall not name, PM'd me and (very nicely) asked about the ages with the story and I replied saying that this was written off a whim and that I'll fix it up before further confusion occurs which would be a pity. Just to say, if you're anyone I know and reading this, you scare me. Not joking. My parents have apparently read my FF stories. Got me all embarrassed now…disclaimer to Rick! :D**

* * *

Annabeth woke up in a cold sweat, breathing hard. She put her head in her hands gulping for air. Little did she know, someone else was also having trouble sleeping. Percy was tossing and turning, surrounded by nightmares he couldn't stop. He froze when he saw an image of Annabeth being dragged away. Bang! He woke with a start, his head turning quickly the the window that had startled him. He sighed. just nightmares, he reminded himself. He lay back down sweating buckets and thinking of Annabeth, little did he know she was thinking of him.

Annabeth couldn't stand it anymore. She had to see Percy. Slipping out of bed, she fell to the floor with a soft thump. Annabeth quickly grabbed her Yankees cap and put it on. Quietly slipping out the door, she headed to the Poseidon cabin. The door was open and she walked in to see Percy staring at the bunk on top of his, shirtless and coated with a thin film of sweat. He must've been having nightmares too.

"Percy?" she called softly. Percy's head snapped her way.

"Annabeth, come here," he murmured, sitting up. Annabeth took off her cap and walked over to Percy, sitting in his lap. She pressed her face against his bare chest as she cried. Percy was worried as he stroked her hair, murmuring to her. Finally, after what seemed for hours, Annabeth stopped sobbing and just sniffled. Percy lay her gently down beside him.

"Stay with me tonight. I don't want you to get anymore nightmares," he whispered. She nodded, a melancholy look on her face. He kissed her forehead to make her smile and she did so he kissed her properly. Immediately she kissed back and he knew that he wasn't the only one who was scarred by Tartarus. Slowly they drifted into a dreamless sleep, brought on by each others presence.

* * *

It was 12:00 and Piper was starting to worry. Annabeth hadn't turned up to breakfast. Some of the other campers look slightly worried too. She was about to ask Chiron when Malcolm ran over looking frantic.

"Annabeth...she's-not in her bunk!"

"What do you mean 'not in her bunk'?" Piper asked, suspiciously. Malcolm grabbed her wrist, dragging her to the Athena cabin. He pointed to Annabeth's bunk.

"See? Not there. I heard her last night tossing around and muttering. Ever since those two went through Tartarus, they've never been the same! Two years later and they still get the nightmares!" He sounded really worried, that's when it clicked for Piper. She snapped her fingers for effect.

"The Poseidon cabin!" she exclaimed.

Malcolm frowned."But campers aren't allowed to stay in the same cabin if they're, you know..." He squirmed uncomfortably. Piper raised an eyebrow at him.

"After going through Tartarus, what makes you think they'll still go by the rules?" she asked. Malcolm's eyes widened comically. Piper rolled her own orbs and dragged him to the low slung building that was covered in seashells and other sea-related objects. Carefully, she opened the door. Inside she saw a shirtless Percy, yes shirtless. Piper forced herself not to cover her eyes. She figured Jason might get a little jealous if she looked at another shirtless male without him there, so her vision flicked to the mess of blonde that lay against Percy's chest. They looked so peaceful for the first time since they returned from Tartarus. Percy had his arms around Annabeth in a protective manner and Piper had to admit, the Aphrodite side of her came out a little as she sighed. Then she remembered Malcolm behind her and looked up. He was peering over her head with a strange expressions, maybe, surprise, annoyance, anger and something else she couldn't put her finger on. His eyes were wide as he took in more of the scene.

Malcolm was getting annoyed. His sister for the gods sake was in the Poseidon cabin, in the same bed as her boyfriend. He shuddered, it must've been the brotherly side of him as he took a step forward. Malcolm felt a slight pressure on his arm and looked down at Piper giving her an inquisitive look. She shook her head. Ugh, Aphrodite girls. He looked out the cabin window and saw the Stolls with a video camera, grinning like lunatics and laughing silently. Piper looked furious. She growled in rage before clamping her hand over her mouth but the damage was done. Percy was awake. He stirred blinking his eyes and looked down at Annabeth's head that was resting on his chest. Percy smiled. He could've stayed there all day but something near his cabin door made him look up. There was Piper and Malcolm, Piper looked shocked and Mal looked furious. He noticed Piper pointing to the window on the right of the cabin. He had some fish in his room so he asked them what was there.

The Stoll brothers, lord. Sons of the thief god. Little demons, they are lord, pranking you, lord! Percy smiled even wider, perfect time for some revenge. He gave Piper a knowing wink and acted as though he was stretching. A splash resounded outside, followed by yelping and a 'Noooo! Travis! You said he wouldn't wake up! He destroyed the camera!'. Piper was laughing silently, her shoulders shaking with suppressed mirth. Oh it was too good. Not every day did you see the Stolls being pranked by their prankee. Annabeth started to stir too after hearing the sounds from outside. She blinked and glanced up at Percy who was chuckling.

"What's so funny Seaweed Brain?" she mumbled. He smiled at her, a warm smile that didn't come as easily as it used too.

"Just pranking the Stolls, and right now, we need to get up," he murmured, his face grew sombre as he woke up more. He leant in and whispered, "Your brother's watching too." She yelped and must've jumped a foot in the air, turning to glare at her brother. Malcolm quietly withdrew himself and walked off. Annabeth turned to Percy who was wheezing from laughing so hard.

"Never-in my life..." he managed to choke out. She slapped his chest.

"Not funny Seaweed Brain!" she growled. Again Percy's face turned sombre, remembering Tartarus and wincing, raising a hand to rub his left arm where the words were. Percy sighed.

"I know Wise Girl," he muttered, completely serious and somewhat tired looking. Annabeth sighed and kissed him on the mouth, before rolling out of bed. She walked to his door and looked back. Annabeth offered him a small, pitiful smile.

"See you at sword-fighting," she said softly. Percy nodded and slumped back, recalling bad memories.

* * *

_"Hear the sound of the falling rain, Comin' down like an Armageddon flame"_

_~Holiday, Green Day_

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**I'm not sure if I should do more chapters. Yes or no? R&R!**  
**Yours truly,**  
**Elmo ;P (I'm quirky and I know it...) Hopefully whichever chapter is required to be up, will be up soon!  
**


	2. Sleep and arguments

**Hey my people! This story has gotten 11 reviews. 11 freaking reviews! im amazed, thus this chapter for your further entertainment...ENJOY! (Rick owns PJO, not me...:(...)**

~oOo~

Percy spun away from Annabeth as they fought, showing the new campers how to fight with a sword. The two parried, slashed and hacked at each other but couldn't land a blow. They knew each other too well. The new campers watched in fascination as two of the greatest heroes in history twirled and spun, making sword-fighting look more like an elegant dance rather than techniques to slaughter something that would want to kill you. It was during these practise fights that the two could forget their torments that stayed with them after fighting their way out of the most dangerous place in all of Greek history. The force behind the attacks and counter-attacks would make one think that it was an all out fight to the death. The couple thought of it as a luxury of enjoyment where they could forget their time in Tartarus and not think about anything or anyone else. Annabeth aimed a heavy blow to Percy's knee only to have her blade stopped by a block that could've passed for a brick wall. Finally, the two demigods found small weaknesses in the other's fighting, after all, they'd been going for maybe 30 minutes. After another flurry of exchanged blows, they found themselves with a blade at their throats. Annabeth had her knife edge against Percy's and Percy had Riptide pointed at her's. Their breath came in heavy rasps and they were sweaty from swordplay. With a sigh Percy lowered his blade the same time Annabeth did. He turned to the new campers.

"When your as good as that, one day you might even be able to beat me." He made the slight joke earning some giggles from the Aphrodite girls at the back. This made Annabeth angry. The only reasons those girls came was to watch Percy. She cleared her throat.

"Everyone, find a dummy and practise attacks to the upper body. If you don't do this you'll have to fight me." she commanded. Some of the campers trembled under her hard gaze. She felt Percy's arm wrap around her shoulders, pulling her into a hug which she returned readily.

"You shouldn't be so hard on them." He murmured.

"That's the only way to stop them from _looking_ at you." She grumbled into his chest.

Percy sighed in a bit of frustration, "You worry too much."

She looked up at him. "I can't help it. Not since..." She trailed off but he knew what she was talking about. Their time in the abyss. The horrible, sleepless hours, battling monsters, fighting titans they had taken down in the actual world. The monsters never seemed to sstop coming. It was the breaking point for Annabeth when they had tortured Percy. She had screamed herself hoarse at Kronos who had cut the words _I will not be loyal_ into Percy's left forearm, embedding it with poison that made sure the scar stayed visible and occasionally hurt. No god or mortal could heal the damage that Kronos had done. Annabeth felt a tear slip down her cheek as she recalled the memories best left alone. She felt a thumb brush the tear away and she looked up at Percy again. She could see the emotions, thoughts and memories churning in his eyes. Annabeth felt herself getting lost in them when he spoke making her come-to.

"I know, but...we can't lost the image of the fearless leader everyone knew for so many years." he whispered to her and she felt a slight rush of adrenaline. She pulled his head down and kissed him, despite the campers watching. They didn't care so much anymore if the campers saw them kissing or not. No one had been through what they had. No experience on earth could best the horrors of Hell.

"Come on." he whispered to her again. They let the campers go and walked up to Half-Blood Hill. They acknowledged Peleus and they sat down against Thalia's tree. Peleus curled around them as well, covering them from sight of the other campers. Percy hugged Annabeth from behind and she closed her eyes, enjoying the comfort she felt when he was near. He rubbed her arms in little circles and she sighed, leaning back into his warmth.

"What do you think Athena would say? I know Poseidon doesn't care, as long as your happy but my mother can be..." She sighed again looking for the right word.

"Over-protective?" Percy guessed. Annabeth laughed a bit.

"I 'spose." she closed her eyes. "Do you still have nightmares?"

"Yes, Annabeth I do."

"Can I stay with you again tonight?"

"Yeah, just make sure Chiron doesn't hear you. He has incredible ears." Annabeth smiled.

"That he does..." She trailed off passing into a light doze. Five minutes later Percy fell asleep too.

~oOo~

On Olympus, Athena watched her daughter fall asleep against a pine tree and the sea spawn. Poseidon walked in with a grim look.

"Athena. Don't even think about it. After what they went through, they deserve some peace and quiet." Athena glared at him.

"What do you want Fish Face?" Poseidon raised an eyebrow.

"How about a happy son and a happy possible daughter-in-law?" he retorted.

"Like Annabeth would agree to marry that sea spawn."

"Maybe your too blind to see it would be wise to leave them be!" He spat, thoroughly annoyed with the goddess by now. Aphrodite appeared.

"Oooooo!" she gave a fangirl squeal. "_Your flirtinggggg!_" she sang happily. Poseidon huffed and stormed out of the room mumbling "And they pay her to be the wisdom goddess..." Aphrodite sat down on Athena's bed, facing her.

"Now, what's going on between you and Poseidon? Cause, that looked suspicious." Her voice trilled making Athena wince. Aphrodite took it as a sign of lying. Athena sighed in frustration.

"Nothing is. Poseidon was being an idiot. I was watching my daughter and that _sea spawn_ when he waltzed in saying, 'don't interrupt them. they deserve to be happy!'. Pfft, like I care!" She huffed, crossing her arms. Aphrodite frowned.

"Don't you think after going through the worst part of hell, it might just be nice to have some fun and not think about it?" Aphrodite questioned. Athena scowled.

"Why would he go into Tartarus with her anyway? It's not like they..."

"...love each other?" Aphrodite finished looking appalled, "Of _course_ they love each other! Your the wisdom goddess, do the math." Athena frowned. Suddenly an idea lit up her mind and she rushed to the throne room.

~oOo~

Percy felt a strange tingling that made him stir a bit. He blinked his eyes hard and opened them. There he was, still holding Annabeth who just happened to be asleep, in front of the gods. He groaned and shook his girlfriend a bit. She noticed the Olympians quicker than he did and glared at them taking Percy's hand as he pulled her up. She intwined her fingers with Percy's before focusing her attention to the gods.

"OK! What do you want from us this time? This is really getting old!" she was on the brink of yelling but Percy's presence stopped her. He was exuding a calm as he nodded to his father and some of the gods who had taken more of a liking to him. He sighed.

"You might want to spill before she gets angry. After Tartarus, she can be pretty darn scary." He said in a monotone.

"Geez Perce! No need to get huffy!" Apollo sounded surprised.

"Apollo, when you don't get much sleep you tend to get annoyed quicker than usual." Percy stated. Artemis shot an arrow at her brother.

"Listen to him he's right you know! Just because _you_ like partying it up every night, _little brother_." she snarled. Apollo raised his hands and was about to retort when water splashed over his head. Now Percy looked annoyed.

"You obviously need me to say it clearer, _why the **hell** are we here?_." He questioned. Poseidon glared at Athena.

"I think Smarty Pants over here owes you the explanation. I don't even know why she brought you here." he jabbed his thumb in the direction of Athena. She glared back naturally.

"Well, your spawn here has been twisting my daughter's thoughts..." She was interrupted by two very angry demigods.

"Mother. Give us a good reason why we shouldn't leave right now!" Annabeth threatened.

"Hello Annabeth, how are you today?" Hera said sarcastically.

"We were _fine_ where we were!" Percy spat back. The air picked up a little and water was thickening in the air. The ground was starting to tremble slightly.

"Uh Poseidon? Would you mind calling your son off? I mean, he _might_ just destroy Olympus..." Hermes said nervously. The messenger god's knees shook a bit. Poseidon glared a bit.

"He has every right to be angry." was all he said. Ares looked really happy, probably waiting for a fight to break out. It never happened. Annabeth placed her hand on Percy's chest, whispering something to him. His shoulders dropped and he stared at the ground. When he looked up, his expression was calm but you could see the storm waiting to break out.

"You get five minutes to explain why we're here. After that, we'll see..." He trailed off glaring around at the gods. Even Ares looked a tid bit scared. Athena took a shaky breath.

"Your here so we can discuss the relationship between you and Annabeth." She spat at them. It was Annabeth's turn to get angry.

"You have no ri-" Percy silenced her with a kiss. "Just a little longer. That's all I'm asking..." She nodded, still glaring at her mother intently.

"Fine, but only for you Percy. No one else." He nodded approval, before turning back to the divine beings in front of him.

"Annabeth is correct. You don't have the right to bring us here." That wasn't what Annabeth had actually been about to say but the gods got his drift. They squirmed uncomfortably.

"Well..." Demeter started, sending a glare of her own at Athena.

"I don't approve of your relationship!" she sniffed. Percy snorted.

"Since when have you?" Athena puffed up in rage.

"Honestly Mother. If that's all you brought us here to say then we're leaving. Goodbye!" She stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Percy glared at the gods.

"Insensitive idiots! The lot of you! If that's the best reason you can come up with for us being here then Annbeth is right. There's not point coming here to be told old news." He turned to leave.

"INSOLENCE! Perseus Jackson! You have no rite to turned your back to-" He spun towards her.

"I have every rite! You can't talk Athena! You so cowardly to not accept the fact that your daughter loves a son of Poseidon! If you even had an _inkling_ of an idea of what we've been through, you might understand what we're going through!" He was past angry, now he was raging.

"I do have an idea! After all I am the wisdom goddess!" Percy snorted.

"If your so _wise_ you might learn to leave us _alone_!" Athena spluttered in rage. Percy was still angry. He waved his hand through the air leaving a mist that contorted to show scenes of torture. Annabeth being tortured. Percy watching his arm getting cut open. Kronos grinning evilly. The scenes didn't seem to end. After five minutes, they stopped leaving speechless gods.

"That's Tartarus. If you even cared, you might've helped us!" he spat. Aphrodite looked close to crying.

"Percy, I would never have thought..." She burst into tears and for some reason Hephaestus went over and hugged her awkwardly when Ares didn't even acknowledge the fact that his girlfriend was crying. Artemis looked close to tears too.

"By the stars if I knew..." Apollo went over and gave her a hug.

"This is why I'm older..." he whispered. Artemis gave him a watery smile.

"Rubbish..." He chuckled but groaned when Aphrodite cooed at them.

"That's so *sniffle* adorable!" She hiccuped a bit. Even Hera looked a little sad. Ares looked impassive.

"Wimp." he grunted.

"Well, you go visit Tartarus. I dare you." Percy threatened with a strange look in his eye. Ares growled.

"You don't tell me what to do punk."

"Coward."

"You'll regret this Jackson."

"Likewise." Ares scowled and disappeared. Two minutes later he returned shivering and shaking. The war god was _scared_. Percy grinned mercilessly.

"Wimp." He used one of Ares favourite words against him. The war god glared but did nothing.

Zeus sighed.

"Honestly it can't be that bad. You being over-dramatic Jackson."

"Maybe I've been watching you _Lord_ Zeus." Percy replied lightly. Zeus' face went red. Athena looked lost and Poseidon grim. She looked at Percy.

"I-I approve of your relationship with my daughter." she said quietly. Percy scowled.

"It's not like I was waiting for your approval. Annabeth is independent and you should let her choose herself. She's no child Athena." With that Percy turned and left. He go to a fountain type of thing when he found Annabeth crying silently. He walked up and wrapped his arms around her.

"I got your mother to approve. We can do what we want and not worry about me getting blasted to pieces now." She smiled at him.

"Did you get the last word?" she joked a little. He smiled and nodded.

"Come on. If we leave now, we might be able to get to my mother's place."

"It'll be good to visit Sally." Percy laughed pulling her closer.

"And she just _adores_ you!" Annabeth laughed lightly.

"I know." She leaned into Percy. He led her gently away and they took the train to his mother's apartment.

~oOo~

**Oh my gods! I've been writing on and off all day on the school computers and now i just couldn't stop. Anyway, it's a long one. If you have any ideas for future chapters, etc PM me. I'm open to criticism! Constructive of course...**


	3. The Banning

**Hey guys! And girls. Yeah whatever I'm not going into specifics. Shout out to all that people who reviewed cause they're awesome. Yes, I am welcome to constructive criticism, remember I am a writer-in-training or however you want to put it so I will make mistakes and that's where you come in peeps! You just have to review and tell me what I'm doing, right or wrong with my stories. This chapter is based on some ideas that I got from .percy,jackson.27, well it's more their idea just put into a chapter so I'm using their review as basic scaffolding. Your welcome to tell me if I'm repeating my chapters too much! Disclaimer to Ricky! ^_^**

~oOo~

"Percy!" Sally greeted her son and noticed the mop of blonde behind him.

"And Annabeth. Come in! Come in!" she ushered them into the kitchen and they sat down. Being the nice mother she was, she offered them both lemonade and sat down in front of them. Paul was asleep and She had been up for a bit, continuing the novel she had always wanted to write. She glanced between the two demigods.

"My mother summoned us to Olympus." Annabeth said blandly. She was completely annoyed with her mother right now. _How dare she interfere!_ she thought with irritation. Percy was annoyed too. _Why couldn't the gods just leave well enough alone?_ he thought. It's not like he and Annabeth were _doing_ anything. He sighed, really wanting to let his frustration out but, imposing their presence on his mother very late into the night stopped him. He skulled the rest of his lemonade as his mother watched him worriedly. She wasn't happy with what Athena had done. She didn't think Poseidon would do that. _I know he just wants Percy to be happy, why can't Athena think the same way?_ She pondered this silently and stared at the table top, frowning a bit as Annabeth finished her own drink. Annabeth took a deep breath and blew out heavily. She stood up.

"Sally, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed." She watched as Percy's mother nodded in agreement.

"It's about time I went to bed too. Do you want me to drop you two off at Camp tomorrow or not?" Sally questioned, looking from her son to Annabeth. Percy nodded.

"That would be great Mom. Annabeth, you can borrow something of mine if you want. I might have some clothes that don't fit me anymore." His girlfriend shrugged.

"I'll find something." She trudged off down the hall thinking about what Chiron would say. What if Piper and Malcolm told him about this morning? That would be the end of her dreamless nights. She frowned. That would be torture. Almost _literally_. After all, Tartarus returned every night unless she was with Percy. He calmed her down a lot. She got to his bedroom and rummaged through his drawers, looking for some of his old clothes that would actually fit her. She was rewarded with an old baggy Camp shirt that he wouldn't fit anymore and some shorts she would still have to roll. She went for a shower. Percy came in a little later and found his girlfriend passed out on his bed. She was twitching sometimes like she did when she was having nightmares. Percy changed and got in beside her, wrapping his arms around her and falling asleep. Both were stilled and slept peacefully. Sally stayed up for another hour or so before closing her laptop and walking to her room. On the way, she poked her head into Percy's room. She smiled sadly looking at the two sleeping peacefully. They seemed to be holding each other tightly as though to stop them from falling. Sighing, she closed the door and headed to the room she shared with Paul. He blinked blearily when she came in.

"Is Percy home?" He questioned. Maybe he had some difficulties at camp or worse, another quest. Paul frowned. He thought Percy was done with quests. Sally shook her head as if reading his thoughts.

"The gods summoned them to Olympus and didn't send them back to Camp. Annabeth's here too." Paul felt his eyes widen.

"They'd better not be sleeping in the same room!" His more fatherly instincts for Percy kicked in. Sally sighed heavily and climbed into bed.

"I couldn't wake them up. You should've seen them. For once they actually _looked_ peaceful." Paul looked to the door.

"Maybe it would be wise to leave them be then."

"Mmmhmm." Sally kissed Paul goodnight and turned off the light.

~oOo~

Percy groaned. His mother poked her head in.

"I've got some pancakes cooking and if you want to get to Camp before 12:00, you might want to get up. Chiron sent an IM earlier too." Percy groaned again and buried his head in Annabeth's hair.

"I don't wanna get up." He mumbled into her hair. She shifted and bit so she could hug him better.

"Percy, we've got to get up if we're going to Camp." She stroked his hair as he lay there.

"Fine," he grumbled, ",but I want to sleep in tomorrow." Annabeth sighed. The fact that Malcolm might tell was still weighing on her mind.

"Chiron might ban us." Percy's head shot up.

"Why would he do that?" He asked. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"I know Piper wouldn't tell but Malcolm might." Percy frowned.

"I hope he hasn't, or I'll kill him in Capture the Flag." It was Friday and in the afternoon they would be playing his favourite game at Camp.

"Jason's coming today too." Percy grumbled.

"I'd better get up then. He is impeccable when it comes to being on time." Annabeth laughed.

"Seaweed Brain used a big word!" She said with fake amazement. He grinned.

"I'm glad your surprised." He shot back. Annabeth kissed him.

"Love you too." She hopped out of the bed and trudged into the bathroom, grabbing her clothes from yesterday. Sally had washed them last night so they were clean. Annabeth took a quick shower before dressing and heading down to find Percy stuffing himself with blue pancakes. She ruffled his hair.

"You eat like a satyr!" She joked. He gave her a look that made her laugh.

"Keep eating then we'll leave." She said. Percy swallowed his mouthful of pancakes.

_Gods, she is beautiful!_ He thought while eating some more pancakes. Sally watched the two with a smile. It was nice to see them happy even if it was only for a bit. She passed a plate full of pancakes to Annabeth. She took it with a smile and started eating.

~oOo~

A few hours later Percy and Annabeth stood on Half-Blood Hill, staring down at their beloved camp. Chiron trotted up the hill with a grim expression. He stopped before them.

"This in the best interests but, Percy, Annabeth," He sighed heavily, "I have to ban you from each other unless your in public or out of Camp." He finished looking at the ground with new found interest. Percy was mad but Annabeth was worse. _I am going to **kill** my_ brother! she thought furiously. Without a second thought she ran down the hill and found Malcolm. He smiled weakly at her.

"What can I do for you sis?"

"How about not tell secrets!" She growled, very close to yelling. She pulled at her knife and Malcolm's only thought was _I'm dead. _

"How could you?! Piper didn't say anything!" She yelled in his face.

"Athena told me to tell Chiron. You know she doesn't approve of this relationship. I just helped her a bit." Annabeth slashed wildly, cutting a thin line into his arm. She was so close to crying.

"HOW COULD YOU!" She screamed. The whole camp had come to watch. She was about to slash at him again when a blade intercepted. It was Percy. He glanced at his fuming girlfriend.

"Annabeth, stop. Your making a scene. I'm sure no one wants a dead camper." He shot a blunt look at Malcolm that clearly said _You messed with her and I promise to kill you later._ Malcolm gulped and backed away. Annabeth tried to follow but Percy stopped her. The campers watched in strange facination as he calmed her down. He noticed they were all still there. He glared at them.

"Clear off! You've had your entertainment!" He said harshly. The camper rushed off feeling a bit guilty. Percy once again glared at Malcolm before turning to Annabeth.

"I'm going to go for a swim. Seeing as your banned from me, I don't think you should come." She nodded with tears in her eyes. She hated the fact that her brother had back-stabbed her. Percy pulled her into a hug.

"I'll see you later, okay?" He whispered. She nodded again. Percy turned and walked off towward the beach, walking straight into a wave and disappearing. Annabeth sighed. She wouldn't see him for another two hours until he cooled off. Annabeth was still angry as well so she went to the arena and slashed through dummies like there was no tomorrow.

~oOo~

When dinner came, the two sat at their tables, quietly acknowledging each other and eating their food in silence. They both sent a prayer to Poseidon, thanking him for approving and asking if he could tell Athena off. They weren't sure if he heard but they tried. The campers snuck peeks at the two, wondering if they would start fighting or yelling at them for banning them from each other. Annabeth pushed her food around her plate, not wanting to eat. She didn't look at any of her siblings. She did recieve some apologetic looks from the Aphrodite campers. Chiron announced there was a roster for peolple to keep Percy away from her a night or vice versa as it usually was. She glanced at Percy and he was glaring at the blue table as if trying to burning a hole in it. He looked furious. Percy stood up quickly, tipping his chair over and storming out of the mess hall. He went straight to his cabin and flung himself down on his bunk, thinking hard. _I'd bet anything Athena told Chiron to ban us. Stupid goddess._ He fumed silently and turned over. Immediately, pain shot up his left arm, where Kronos had cut him. He bit his tongue so as to stop him from screaming. Eventually he passed out from the pain only to be rewarded with the usual nightmares of Tartarus. He had a falling sensation as he re-lived their fall into the bottomless pit. He shot up, shaking and sweating. Her ripped his shirt off letting the cool night air touch his fevered skin. Percy glanced out his window. Night had fallen and the stars were bright. he got up and paced, trying to get the images of Tartarus out of his head. Soon, Percy laid down but refused to sleep. He couldn't, not with knowing what he would see. Across the camp in the Athena cabin, Annabeth paced up and down. She couldn't go out. Chris, from the Hermes cabin was patrolling so she couldn't. She had a funny feeling Percy couldn't sleep either.

"Annabeth, go to sleep." Malcolm said groggily. She glared at him.

"I _can't_ traitor." She hissed back. He frowned.

"Why not? We all have nightmares. I know what your going through." She slapped him, leaving a red mark on his cheek.

"Tartarus is different. It's worse than any nightmare." She stopped her pacing, making a decision. She walked to the door.

"I'm going to go visit Rachel. She's usually still up." She threw the words at her brother leaving him a bit shocked. She rushed out the door and headed to Rachel's cave.

"Hello?" She poked her head in. There was Rachel, drawing something in charcoal on a canvas. She glanced up at the blonde.

"Couldn't sleep?" Annabeth nodded and walked over. The place had heaps of space and was covered in drawings and paintings. The blonde looked at the picture Rachel was drawing. It was Percy and Annabeth, huddled next to a car. Percy had Riptide out and looked wary. Annabeth was asleep.

"How did you get that picture?" She questioned the ginger. Rachel shrugged.

"Being the Oracle gives you some advantages. The bad bit is, the Oracle keeps showing me you and Percy in Tartarus. Some of the scenes aren't real pretty."

"If only Chiron or my _brother_ could see the images. Maybe they would understand then." Rachel shrugged and an idea formed in her head. No, she wouldn't tell Annabeth or Percy. She figured maybe a week and she could have drawn most of the scenes of their time in Tartarus. Maybe then, Chiron would take away the ban and Malcolm would understand. Until then, they would have to edure their dreams. Rachel smiled at Annabeth.

"If you can wait a week, I might be able to come up with something." Annabeth sighed. Nothing would change Chiron's mind except _extreme_ convincing. The blonde shrugged.

"Try whatever you can Rachel, but it may not work." She jumped a foot when she heard a painful yell. It sounded like Percy. Her eyes widened.

"He's dreaming. He won't wake up either." She said hurredly to Rachel. Her green eyes widened in understanding.

"Get Clovis from the Hypnos cabin. Maybe he can help." Annabet nodded and ran out of the cave followed closely by Rachel. Rachel went to Percy's cabin as Annabeth went to Clovis'.

"Clovis! Wake up! It's important!" She shook him roughly and he moaned.

"Five more minutes Mom..." He grumbled and turned over to go back to sleep. She yanked the pillow out from under his head. He jumped straight up looking angry.

"Annabeth, please, I want my pillow back!" He grumbled.

"Not until you help Percy. He's in the middle of a nitghmare." Clovis sighed.

"Fine, I'm coming." He stumbled out of bed and headed to the Poseidon cabin. Inside, Percy was tossing and turning, clutching his arm, twitching sometimes. His expression was so pained Annabeth had to force herself to look at him. Clovis walked over to him and laid a hand on Percy's brow, closing his eyes and concentrating. Two minutes later Clovis jumped a foot in the air, away from Percy with a scared expression. He turned to Annabeth.

"There's nothing I can do. The poison that Kronos used still courses through his veins. That poison won't leave his body until three years have passed. In the meantime, he will have to put up with the nightmares and the pain. I'm sorry Annabeth, there's nothing I can do except maybe drench him in water." Annabeth nodded sadly, jumping when Chiron walked in. The centaur looked disapproving.

"You should not be in here, Annabeth." He said, stating the obvious. Annabeth gestured madly to Percy.

"Look at him! If he's like this every night I swear to all the gods-"

"Annabeth, don't finish that sentence." Rachel warned. Annabeth glared and stormed out the door.

~oOo~

**Hope you liked! If you review you get a new chapter! Someone reviewed on my last chapter and said that I was repeating something. They didn't say what though. Peeps, if you're gonna tell me I need to change something tell me what I need to change. The story won't get better other wise...**


	4. A Change of Scenery

**Thanx for the reviews! Your all awesome and don't forget it! Disclaimer to Rick. I obviously don't own the PJO series...duh! :P Anyway, to discontinue lack of sleep from the people who ****_really_**** like my story, NEW CHAPTER!**

~oOo~

"Hey Jason." Percy greeted his cousin as Jason sat down beside him. They were sitting on the edge of the lake. Jason looked at his Greek cousin.

"What happened Perce? You aren't, well you _haven't_ been that happy since Tartarus." Percy winced.

"Don't say that name." He muttered. Jason nodded. Seriously, something was bothering Percy and wasn't just the usual, _Tartarus is hell_ crap. He'd only been this sad when Annabeth had gone under Rome to face Arachne.

"Perce, what's wrong?" He asked again. Percy continued staring at the calm water.

"Chiron banned me from Annabeth. We can't see each other." Jason felt his face fall. Oh Percy would've been really ticked off when he heard _that_.

"New Rome is always there if you want to visit to get things off your mind. Mean, you could try but I don't think Chiron would let Annabeth come as well." Percy looked at him with a pained expression.

"I-I-I'll come, but that doesn't mean I'll be happy about it. Besides, I haven't visited the Romans for a while." He looked up at the sky and Jason was praying to all the gods that his cousin wouldn't crack under the circumstances. Percy jumped up to his feet.

"I'm going to go pack. Did you bring one of the flying chariots or should I call Blackjack?"

"Nah, I brought a chariot." Percy nodded and strode off. Jason sat there thinking over what Percy had just said. Chiron could be pretty laid-back. Out of everyone here, Jason though Chiron would be the most understanding of Annabeth's and Percy's time in hell. Jason shook his head and went to find Piper. She was at the pegasi stables, feeding one of the winged horses.

"Hey Pipes." He said as he wrapped an arm around her waist. She turned with a smile and kissed him.

"Hey Sparky." She teased him and he rolled his eyes at her before turning serious again.

"Pipes, is it true that Percy and Annabeth...?" Piper sighed deeply, her face frowning.

"They got back from Olympus this morning. Chiron banned them at the same time. Jason," She looked up at him, "Last night I heard Percy screaming. _Screaming_ Jason. Something isn't right. A few night ago Annabeth snuck into Percy's room. Malcolm and I found them asleep. It was the most peaceful I've seen them since Tartarus." She shook her head.

"Annabeth told me that the only way she can get to sleep and not have nightmares is to be near Percy, now, Malcolm has gone and wreaked that." Jason narrowed his eyes.

"You mean to say Malcolm told on them?" Piper nodded her head.

"I swear I will _kill_ him..." He trailed off, thinking of nasty ways to torture Annabeth's younger brother. Piper laughed.

"I think Percy already swore to." That made Jason frown.

"Maybe that's why he agreed to come to New Rome with me." He muttered. Piper's eyes widened. Rachel had told her about the painting plan. If Percy went to New Rome it might jeopardize the whole thing.

"Jason, you can't do that! Swear on the River Styx you won't tell anyone this unless you have my permission!"

"Pipes-"

"Swear Jason!" He huffed.

"Fine, I swear on the River Styx to not tell anyone of Piper's plan unless she has given me permission or the plan has been put through action." Thunder boomed over-head and Jason sighed.

"My father is _so _dramatic, it's unbelievable." He shook his head and Piper gave a small laugh.

"Rachel has been getting visions, of Percy and Annabeth in Tartarus. She had the idea that she might be able to have most of them drawn or painted by the end of the week. Percy and Annabeth aren't to know but, she decided that if she did this then showed them to Chiron and the people who don't have a _clue_ what they're going through. Maybe then, they'll understand and leave them be." She stopped to take a breath.

"Now it's only you, me and Rachel that know about it. You _have_ to keep quiet. Please Jason!" Piper begged him. He looked at her.

"I won't say a word but what about Annabeth and Percy?" He sighed heavily, "What if I take Percy withe me to New Rome until Rachel finishes those drawings? That way there's only one person that might find out and they won't get in more trouble be sneaking back in when they're banned." Piper looked at him.

"I can see where your coming from it's just, after 8 months they're finally back together. Then they're on a quest they might not come back from and they end up in the worst part of hell. They practically lose their minds with worry for each other just to win the war and come back haunted by old memories then being banned from each other!" Piper sounded hysterical. _If that happened to me, i would hate it_ she thought. Who wouldn't? You find the love of your life after 8 long months, become mentally scared and have to leave your lover _again_. Piper knew what those two had been through together now...she felt really bad for them. SHe should've made Malcolm to promise on the River Styx instead of just going off his word. She shuddered. Maybe then this catastrophe wouldn't have happened. Jason pulled her in for a hug.

"I know Pipes, I know."

~oOo~

"Hey Rach." Annabeth called. The Oracle whipped round like a deer caught in headlights. She gave a hasty smile and covered a charcoal drawing she had been finishing.

"Hey Annabeth. I heard Percy was leaving for New Rome with Jason." Annabeth stopped dead, clutching her camp necklace. It still had the numerous beads, college ring and coral pendant Percy had given her. The last probably meant the most to her. After all, it was from Percy. Rachel watched as Annabeth's eyes widened. She had agreed with Jason that it might've been better if one of them left. Now that Annabeth knew that he was leaving she looked even worse than she had been and that was saying something.

"No!" She whisper-yelled, her eyes wide. _No!_ she thought, _why would he leave me?_ She dashed out of Rachel's cave and sprinted to Half-Blood hill to find Percy checking a backpack with a sad look on his face. Jason was behind, checking the wheels on a chariot pulled by two pegasi.

"Percy!" She screamed as she ran up the hill. He looked up with a sad expression. Annabeth jumped straight into his arms and buried her head in his chest.

"Don't leave me." She whispered hoarsely. He stroked her back.

"I have to Wise Girl. If I stay, I won't be able to stay away from you. We would get in more trouble." She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"I love you." He nodded.

"Love you too."

"Here." she said, un-tying her necklace and slipping off the coral pendant. She pressed the pendant into his hands.

"Take it. So you'll remember me when you have nightmares." Her eyes searched his face and he searched her face too.

"I need to leave Annabeth. You aren't making this any easier." She hugged him tighter.

"I don't want you to."

"I have to." He repeated. He tilted her chin up, searching her eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll be back." She nodded but he kissed her anyway. Jason turned his back to them so they could have some privacy. The two pulled apart before someone would notice. Percy jumped into the chariot without looking back. He couldn't. Not with Annabeth there. He knew he would've jumped back out and stayed. He did look back when the chariot was 20 feet in the air. He turned and waved to the small blonde figure that looked up at them. In a rush of wings, they were gone, leaving a distraut Annabeth standing, watching as her boyfriend disappeared as a speck before she turned and walked slowly down Half-Blood Hill to find Piper.

~oOo~

Percy stood with the reins in hand. He glanced at Jason for a second.

"Do you think I'm doing the right thing?" The Son of Jupiter looked over at him and shrugged.

"Duty is duty. If you had stayed you wouldn't have been able to stay away from each other." Percy frowned at what his cousin said.

"I 'spose it's just-I don't want to leave her." He put both reins in one hand and fingered the pendant she had given him. The pegasi weren't flying very fast so driving the chariot one-handed didn't matter so much.

"Percy, both hands on the reins please." Jason gripped the sides of the chariot that his knuckles went white. Percy chuckled.

"Your the son of Jupiter. Shouldn't I be the worried one?" Percy got a small chortle out of Jason before he became solemn.

"You might be right on that one." They flew in silence after that and Jason had a small bit of hope. Maybe Percy wasn't as scarred as they thought.

~oOo~

Jason's theory was ruled out the next morning. Percy had stayed in a bunk in the fifth cohort. Jason had offered the couch of his praetor cabin but Percy had declined and taken his things to the fifth. Jason jumped and fell out of bed when he heard an ear-splitting scream. At first he thought someone was being punished for doing something wrong, soon he realised it sounded worse than someone who had just been tossed in the Little Tiber. When the person screamed again Jason instantly knew who it was. Percy. Percy was reliving all the horrible moments of Tartarus. Again. Piper had said something about not waking him up but Jason felt that if he didn't then his cousin might wake up the whole camp. Jason threw on some jeans over his boxers, shoved some shoes on his feet and rushed out the door, towards the fifth. Sure enough, Percy was thrashing and tossing, messing up his bed, covered in sweat and looked pained. He held his left forearm as though it was burning. The same arm he had the scars. Jason shuddered to think what Kronos had done to it. He assesed the situation and sprang into action.

"Frank, grab his legs, Dakota, grab an arm, Bobby, same. We're taking him to the Tiber. Maybe that might calm him down." He pointed a few more legionnaires to support the writhing Greek and they started out the door to find Reyna looking worried.

"What happened? I heard someone screaming..." She looked at Percy and her expression hardened. She ordered the legionnaires that had gathereed out of the way and gave them a clear path towards the Little Tiber. Octavian glared at them as they passed.

"Puny _Graecus_! They can't even handle a few nightmares!" He scolded in a mocking manner. A legionnaire from Octavian's own cohort slammed the hilt of his _g__ladius_ into the centurion's head. He looked up, a bit scared.

"Sorry, he was getting annoying." Reyna gave a curt nod and a small smile to show that she approved of what he did despite the fact that he should've been punished. This time though, she would let it pass. Heck, if that was her, she proably would have done the same thing. **(A/N: I always had this image of Reyna beating up Octavian...I think this is as close as it'll get though...*Dreaming face*)** She lead the struggling group towards the Tiber.

"Place just his feet in. It's possible that his body has shut down so much that he might forget he can control his father's domain." The boys lay Percy with his feet in the water, up to his knees. He groaned and grabbed his arm again. He glared at them through one of his eyes before shuddering and sitting up, rubbing the back of his neck. Jason and Frank shared a look. Percy was in real trouble if he was like this every night. It might even come to the stage that he couldn't sleep. An IM appeared and showed Piper's worried face.

"Annabeth had a nightmare. She just woke up but she's pretty shaken up. Is Percy there? She's asking for him." She looked at Jason and they seemed to have a silent conversation. Jason nodded held his hand out to Percy who took it eagerly and Jason pulled him up. Percy stuck his head in front of the IM.

"Where's Annabeth?" He asked hurriedly. Annabeth poked her head into view. Her hair was messy and she had bags under her eyes which were blood shot.

"Percy?" Her voice was hoarse.

"Arachne...?" he asked. Everyone looked confused but Annabeth nodded, tears starting to make their way down her face. Percy looked broken, like he wanted to jump through the IM. His hand twitched and Jason placed his own on Percy's shoulder. The Greek shrugged him off but kept looking at Annabeth.

"Promise not to kill Malcolm while I'm away." He said quietly. Annabeth glared.

"Where Malcolm is concerned I'm not making any promises." She crossed her arms and Percy wanted to wrap his arms around her. Instead he sighed.

"I understand. Just don't do anything stupid." Annabeth gave a strained laugh.

"Me? Do something stupid?" Percy smiled at her.

"Someone has to keep up the Seaweed Brain attitude." He grinned at her. She laughed a little bit. Reyna was shocked. She had seen the two after Tartarus. They _never_ laughed. But she remembered something Piper had told Jason. Annabeth and Percy would sometimes joke but become solemn again. What if they actually opened up when they were by themselves? That would be an explaination. She saw Octavian starting to wake up and strode over to head him off. Octavian hated Percy for being Greek and for the fact that, if they were both in fron of the Legion, the legionnaires would most likely follow the _graecus_. The stupid idiots didn't see that he was weak, a joke who had probably never beaten so much as a minotaur. Not that Octavian could talk. He'd never been on a quest. Apart from a few weak monsters he'd never actually fought, life or death. During the fight for New Rome, he'd had been knocked out early in the peace. **(A/N: I don't know if this is actually true but in SoN Percy states that Octavian is a speaker not a fighter. Maybe not in those words but close enough.****)** Then, the unsuspected hero he had seen saving Rome had been the _graecus_ himself. He'd been furious when Jackson was named praetor. Who in their right mind would choose a Greek over a Roman? Reyna was foolish for accepting the Greeks. She was soft. Now, she was heading him off so Jackson could talk without interruptions. Being the good Roman soldier he was, he left. Reyna smiled when he did and went back over to the IM to see Annabeth crying and Percy looking like he wanted to jump through the Irs message. Percy looked down at his feet.

"I'll see you-when the ban is lifted." He said quietly. He looked up and his face softened.

"Wise Girl, don't cry. I hate seeing you cry. It-it shouldn't be long. Can please go tell my mom where I am. I would prefer to tell her in person." Annabeth nodded, slightly amused at his cowardice.

"I'll go see her Thursday. I love you Percy."

"Love you too." He swiped his hand through the mist and sat down heavily and put his head in his hands. Jason and Frank sat down beside him. Percy looked up.

"I'm going to Manhattan on Thursday."

"Woah! Perce, you sure that's a bright idea?" Frank asked. Percy looked at his friend.

"Frank this is one of the things I've been most sure of in my _life_. I've _got_ to go. I need to see her."

"You can get Blackjack?" Jason asked. Percy looked at him like he had dropped from space. _Why would he ask that? I can always get Blackjack._

"Sure. I _am _the son of the god who made horses." Percy rolled his eyes and Jason smiled a bit. Maybe they were making progress as far as getting them to come out around people.

~oOo~

**Enjoy! Sorry for the cliffy or whatever you want to call it. I probably would've kept writing but it just seemed the right time to stop. Ten more reviews and I'll update peeps...BTW this was not proof-read, sorry!**


	5. Welcome back!

**READ ON! I COMMAND YOU! :P (Ricky owns ****_all_**** i just write the fanfiction) **

~oOo~

Annabeth looked out the window of the taxi as she headed to Percy's mom's apartment. Everyone at camp was being so nervous around her, like she'd start yelling at them at a moments notice. She sighed. They were probably right. Piper had heard from Jason that Percy's first night at Camp Jupiter he had woken half the camp screaming worse than anyone he had ever heard. Considering the Roman punishments, it must've been pretty bad. Annabeth wasn't much better. Every time she came close to falling asleep Tartarus returned like a bad smell. Eventually she had given up on sleep and, from what she had heard, so had Percy. She knew Percy too well. He wouldn't want to wake up the camp with his screaming so he had refused to sleep. Annabeth couldn't stand the pictures of Percy being tortured thus her sleepless days and nights too. Her temper had become increasingly short, her grey eyes bloodshot and droopy. She hated to think what Percy looked like. If she looked a mess so would he. It was just the way they worked. If one lost sleep so would the other, if one was happy the other would be also. She glanced up and saw the outline of a black pegasus, the reflection gliding smoothly across a window. That couldn't be right. Percy was the only one to have a black pegasus and Blackjack was with him in New Rome. She shook her head and banished the thought as the cabbie pulled over and dropped her off. She gathered up her bags after paying him and took the elevator up to the Blofis/Jackson apartment. Sure enough Sally opened the door with a wide smile and welcoming arms.

"Come in dear, you look tired." She ushered the daughter of Athena in. Annabeth's usually sparkling grey eyes were dull, lifeless and mirrored exhaustion. They were blood shot and her curly blonde hair was a mess as though it hadn't been brushed for a few days. Her clothes hung off her frame like she hadn't been eating properly. She looked a bit paler than usual too. They entered the kitchen and Annabeth sat down, grabbing a blue cookie and nibbling on it.

"Sorry Sally. Camp was becoming tiresome." She mumbled. Paul walked in with a bounce in his step and a large smile that vanished quickly.

"Annabeth! You look worse than a student studying in college!" **(A/N: Sorry people who go to college! I assume you pull a lot of all nighters and I had to compare it to something, didn't I?)**

"Thanks Paul." Annabeth said dryly. Paul frowned. Annabeth wasn't usually like this. Even after Tartarus she wasn't this with drawn.

"Sorry it's just I thought you were at Camp with Percy." Annabeth sighed deeply, facing the middle-aged man.

"The heart of the problem, Percy..." Sally narrowed her eyes.

"He didn't say anything stupid did he? I-" Annabeth raised a hand to cut her off.

"Chiron banned us from each other. Percy knew that we would just get in more trouble if he stayed. He's at Camp Jupiter until the ban stops." Sally shared a look with Paul. Chiron wasn't usually like this. After the ordeal Percy and Annabeth had gone through, they thought Chiron would be the most understanding unless...Athena had something to do with it? Maybe that was something to look into. If this wasn't sorted out soon Sally was going to go in all guns blazing. They were all distracted by a loud _thump_ on the roof. Annabeth looked up at the ceiling, her hand going to the hilt of her dagger. She jumped up and went to the window.

"I'll go see what it is." She mumbled. She climbed out onto the fire escape and climbed up, getting to the roof. A black pegasus stood there, calmly rubbing his head on his leg. He was a bit sweaty so he must've come a long way. Annabeth walked over to him, immediately recognising him. She scratched his forehead. **(A/N: My horse _loves _being scratched on his forehead. Sorry, had to put that there...)**

"Where's Percy Blackjack?" She wondered out loud.

"How about behind you?" A voice called out. She whipped round and saw Percy grinning like a madman, arms wide, silently asking for a hug. She ran over and wrapped her arms around him.

"Why are you here?" She asked looking up at him. On second glance she realised he didn't look to good. His hair was messier than usual, his clothes hung off his frame a bit even though she could still feel his lean muscles under his shirt, his green eyes sparkled but looked extremely tired like he hadn't slept for a week, slightly blue bags were under his eyes and he looked a bit sickly like he hadn't been out in the sun much. His smile was the same as ever, maybe happier thn usual. **(A/N: Well gee, I wonder why...sorry, sarcastic comments are my speciality...)**

"Came to see you Wise Girl." He brushed back her bangs.

"You look terrible!"

"You don't look to hot yourself." She sighed. Same old Seaweed Brain. He buried his head in her hair.

"I still love you." he muttered. She ran a hand through his thick, messy hair.

"Love you too." She pulled away a bit but he snagged her waist and kissed her.

"Ahem!" Percy pulled away slowly. Malcolm was standing with a weird expression.

"What do you want Malcolm?"

"That's my sister your kissing!"

"So?" Percy looked unimpressed.

"Why are you here?" Annabeth demanded. _Oh Hades! She's gonna kill me now!_ Malcolm thought. He looked at her nervously, twiddling his thumbs a bit.

"Umm...Athena...orders...follow you..." He muttered really low.

"Louder please Malcolm." Percy asked lightly. Malcolm threw up his hands.

"Fine! Athena told me to follow Annabeth to make sure she wouldn't see you!" Annabeth glared at him with her hands on her hips.

"Do I _look_ like I care?" She demanded. Malcolm went a little pale.

"Umm..."

"Malcolm, she won't kill you. Why are you so bent on helping Athena anyway?" Percy asked calmly, wrapping an arm around Annabeth's waist to calm her down.

"Rule Number 1 in the Athena cabin; _always_ agree with Mom." Percy snorted.

"That would be funny to see if you were a son of Poseidon. The tide can't be restrained. I don't like restraint either, that's why I went to Camp Jupiter. Obviously that didn't work. Besides, one; I thought as long as we're out of camp it doesn't matter what we do and two; what happened to the 'once turned 17 years old' rule? And honestly, when have I ever listened to Athena? Not much." Malcolm's mouth was open.

"Look man, if Athena put you up to that, come have dinner with us." Malcolm looked down. He didn't know what Percy was up to. Or should he say 'not up to'. Percy seemed to come up with some things without putting much thought into it. When he looked up he saw some form of forgiveness in Percy's eyes. Annabeth had a bit of a harsher flame but she seemed happy to go with whatever Percy said.

"Sure, if your parents don't mind Perce." Percy grinned.

"Great. Come on." He never let go of Annabeth's hand while they climbed down the fire escape.

"Mom? Paul? I'm home!" Percy called. Sally rushed out with a huge smile. She enveloped her son in a hug.

"Annabeth said you were in San Francisco! You should've told me!" Percy had the grace to look embarrassed.

"I 'spose she told you about the ban? Yeah well, you know with Poseidon being my father, I don't tend to follow rules..." He trailed off but Sally got the message. Percy wouldn't have been able to stay away from Annabeth, it was just in his nature to ignore rules. She lead them into the kitchen and they sat around the table.

"So, I can either take you to Camp tomorrow in the morning or I can take you in the afternoon." Percy thought about it for a bit.

"Afternoon please Mom. I want to sleep in." He glanced at Annabeth who looked just as tired. She agreed with him besides, maybe they could go somewhere afterwards anyway.

"Thanks Sally." Annabeth said. Malcolm looked uncomfortable.

"Percy, do you mind if I take Blackjack back? I don't want to stay the night..." Sally huffed.

"Stay the night and take Blackjack home in the morning Malcolm. I wouldn't feel right making you leave." Malcolm nodded. He was touched by Sally's worrying. Athena was a war goddess. If you couldn't fend for yourself you weren't worthy of the title of child of Athena. Sometimes he felt he didn't really _have_ a mother.

"Thanks Mrs. Jackson." Sally smiled.

"Call me Sally. Mrs. makes me feel old."

"Your not old..." Percy muttered under his breath. Sally turned her gaze to her son.

"Thank you. Come on, I need help dishing out." Annabeth stood up instead.

"It's alright Percy, I'll help." She followed Sally over to the stove as Percy walked into the living room and grabbing Annabeth's bags.

"Woah! You are _not_ taking those to your room!" Malcolm blocked the stairs but Percy just shouldered through.

"We've only got one guest room." Malcolm knew that that wasn't the only reason. Percy opened the door to his room and inspected it. His mother had been through and everything was clean and organised. Percy mentally shuddered. He hated it when his mother did that. He wasn't able to find anything. **(A/N: This _always_ happens to me unless I clean my room myself. It's really** **annoying...)**He sighed and dropped Annabeth's things near the end of his bed before going over to his drawers. He pulled out a t-shirt and some shorts that would fit Malcolm but didn't fit Percy anymore.

"Bathrooms there." He pointed out the door and Malcolm nodded. **(A/N: I wouldn't have a clue what Percy's apartment looks like. Correct me if that's wrong.)** Percy trudged down the stairs to find Annabeth in the kitchen, stirring some rice.

"You gonna put some food colouring in that?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her waist. She looked up at him with a smile.

"Of course! Who wouldn't want blue rice?" She laughed and Percy gave her a mock sad look.

"Oh I don't _know_..." She smiled at him, putting some blue food colouring on her finger and tapping his nose. He rubbed it off quickly.

"I thought Rudolph had a _red_ nose." She laughed again and rolled her eyes before turning back to the rice.

"Grab some plates Seaweed Brain." He kissed her cheek and turned to the cupboard to get the plates out. Sally had seen the whole thing and smiled. Maybe, just maybe they could get through this.

~oOo~

Later that night Malcolm peeked round Percy's door. Annabeth was lying on Percy's chest, her hair blowing off her face slightly with every breath. Percy had his arms wrapped round her but the thing that struck Malcolm the most was their faces. They looked so _peaceful_, as if they'd never gone to Tartarus. Malcolm smiled and withdrew thinking about some way to convince his mom to lay off the two.

~oOo~

**Hope you enjoy! Maybe another 10 reviews possibly? It was funny because last chapter I only asked for around ten and I got twenty! I feel really special peeps and you all totally deserve this chapter. I'll keep updating as long as you keep reviewing. So there you have it, Athena put Malcolm up to it and if you can guess what happens next chapter you get smiley faces! Enjoy the story peeps...**


	6. The Big Reveal

**Your update lovely people! BTW I'm recommending a story called Runaways 1 by superhypercarrot I believe is the username. It's a great story but hasn't gotten many reviews yet even though it's awesome. Go read it and review lovely people! Heheh. The story is ****_not_**** mine I just offered to recommend it and the author said yes. Please go check it out! It's really good. Anyway, to my reviewers...lol! Some of your reviews really made me laugh. Lol to the guest review about my username. I thought that was hilarious! My username _is_ actually based on my horse's name and (once I get a decent picture) I'm going to have him as my profile picture (Actually, come to think of it, my cousin took some decent pics from a gymkhana. I might get one off him...). Only three smiley faces peeps! Honestly, I though you knew the importance of smiley faces...*Sniffs and walks away*. :) :P ;) There are your smiley faces for the people who guessed and got it right (or partially). Now...where was I? Yes, Disclaimer to Ricky and please read on!**

~oOo~

"PERCY!" Malcolm shouted at the son of Poseidon from the IM he had sent. Malcolm had left in the morning like he had said and left Annabeth and Percy to sleep the day away. He frowned.

"Annabeth! Wake up!" She didn't move. Malcolm sighed angrily.

"SALLY! COULD YOU PLEASE WAKE UP YOUR SON?!" He shouted as loud as he could. Sally Blofis poked her head in. It was the afternoon and she was home from work. She smiled at Malcolm.

"Is there something important at Camp? I'm not sure I really want to bother them." She said. Malcolm blinked.

"I know it's just they might want to be here. Could you please tell them to come to Camp? Oh and uh...ask Annabeth not to kill Rachel." With that he slashed his hand through the IM. Sally went over to her son and shook him a bit.

"Perseus Jackson! Wake up now!" He shot upright.

"Som'um say my nam'?" He mumbled blearily. Sally smiled.

"Yes, now get Annabeth up. You need to go to Camp." He blinked at his mother.

"Why?" He asked curiously. Sally shrugged.

"I don't know. Malcolm IM'd you and you were asleep." Percy felt heat rise in his cheeks. Sally laughed.

"Come on, you need to get up. You want some blue pancakes?" Percy nodded, watching her go before slumping against the top of the bed. He looked at his girlfriend. She looked so peaceful. He didn't _really_ want to wake her up but this was Camp, if it's something important it's brighter to just _go_. He shook her shoulder gently and she rolled over groaning and rubbing her eyes.

"You know," She mumbled, "I think I've started some of your habits. For instance, I just _don't_ like getting up as much as I used to..." She trailed off and Percy smiled.

"Malcolm IM'd us. Apparently there's something important at Camp." Annabeth frowned. She had been at Camp all week and hadn't heard or seen anything unusual.

"We should probably go. This _is _Camp. If there's something important they mean it." Annabeth pointed out the obvious. Percy rolled his eyes and closed them for second before getting hit by a pillow. He opened one eye and looked at Annabeth who was scowling.

"_Get up _Seaweed Brain!" She insisted. Percy blinked and raised his eyebrows.

"Don't scowl. It doesn't become of you." He did indeed get up but not before kissing her forehead. Snatching up some reasonably clean jeans and a decent t-shirt, he walked into the bathroom to wash up a bit and wake up. When he came out Annabeth was dozing lightly. He smirked. Leaning down, he kissed her properly before shaking her lightly.

"Annie, time to get up!" He said in a sing-song voice. She groaned and opened her eyes.

"Your cruel, and _don't_ call me Annie. Just because your my boyfriend doesn't mean I won't slap you." Percy winced remembering their reunion at New Rome when she had judo flipped him. Landing on back is _not_ very nice. He shrugged.

"Don't blame me when you don't have any pancakes left." He swiftly walked out the door and descended the stairs to find his mom in the kitchen, setting a plate down with something near ten pancakes. He poured syrup on them before wolfing them down. Five minutes later Percy was on his last pancake and Annabeth was coming down the stairs. She sighed, shaking her head.

"I don't suppose you might happen to have any pancakes left, Sally?" She questioned the older woman. Sally smiled at the blonde and placed a plate with pancakes in front of her.

"Here you go, dear. When you have to cook for my son, you learn to make more than usual." She frowned slightly at Percy who looked up before shrugging and turning back to his last few bits of pancake. As Annabeth started eating he stood up, taking his plate with him to the sink and rinsing it. He ran up the stairs two at a time and into his bathroom so he could brush his teeth.

~oOo~

Annabeth and Percy hiked up the hill towards Thalia's pine tree. They stopped and squinted at a large group in front of the Big House. They recognised the bushy red of Rachel's head **(A/N: That was _not_ supposed to rhyme. My apologies.)**, standing at the front showing maybe 15, large, white-backed squares to the crowd which looked like the whole camp. Percy frowned and took off down the hill at a fast jog with Annabeth following. Within minutes they arrived at the crowd and the campers parted before them like a sea. Annabeth was curious as to why they were all gathered. It must've been interesting otherwise they wouldn't have been there at all. She saw Rachel look at her. The red-head offered a wan smile and possibly went a bit paler than usual. She turned back to the campers and Chiron who, somehow, had appeared just then. Percy and Annabeth got to the front and stopped dead still. The images on the canvas' was in such good likeness that it sent tremors through Annabeth's arms. Percy was a little better and wasn't shaking so much but sweat started to form on his face as he clenched his fists. Rachel looked at the two and immediately felt worried. They were both shaking at varying degrees, had lost their tan complexions to a much paler colour and Percy seemed to be sweating uncontrollably. **  
**

"Umm," Rachel cleared her throat but it didn't help. She dry swallowed twice to no avail. She coughed a bit and re-started, "As the Oracle-I have been, um, getting images of Percy and Annabeth in Tartarus." Some campers gasped at her being so forward with the name, usually they avoided saying names of mythical things directly, "Uh, I felt that you didn't give them a fair trial or whatever you want to call it. You obviously didn't understand what they went through," Rachel's voice got stronger, "and I figured maybe if you could see then you might take back the ban. After hell, they deserve it." Someone started clapping randomly and others joined as she stepped off the porch and walked to Annabeth and Percy. They hadn't moved a muscle during the whole thing. They were still rooted to the spot when she got there so she snapped her fingers in front of their faces. Percy blinked and looked down. Annabeth grabbed Percy's hand blinking as well. They looked at her unfocused and swaying a bit before collapsing.

~oOo~

Malcolm stood in front of the Empire state building muttering to himself.

"I can do this, I can do this..." On it went before he shook his head, startling himself. With a jerk he walked forward and yanked open the door before trudging swiftly to the desk.

"600th floor please." The guy at the desk looked at him.

"There's no 600th floor kid." Malcolm stomped impatiently.

"I _need_ to talk to Athena!" He said forcefully. The doorman raised an eyebrow at him.

"Family problems, eh?" Malcolm frowned fiercely and nodded sharply. The guy sighed and hit the buzzer.

"If you don't come back down, do you want me to assume your dead or not?" Malcolm shook his head and stormed to the elevator. As it rose he had to listen to some old song that was new when Chiron was born. Probably not literally but it must've been close. The elevator dinged and Malcolm walked off briskly towards the throne room. As he went he noticed some of Annabeth's architecture. It was brilliant. Mostly Greek with a bit of Roman and an even smaller bit of Egypt, modernised somewhat so it looked a little cleaner. The houses went no higher than two stories, gardens led off to secluded spaces, pillars of granite looked sharp and clean whilst statues of the 12 Olympians stood tall and proud leading to the steps of the palace. All in all it was amazing. Annabeth had over-done herself. The statues of the gods looked happier than the old frowning ones that had been damaged during Titan war number #2. He stopped at the threshold of the throne room and looked around a bit. It was just as amazing as the rest of Olypus, if not better. Malcolm turned to the gods and smiled maybe a tad weakly. He cleared his throat and started strongly.

"May I please have a private audience with my mother?" He questtioned. Zeus raised an eyebrow and glanced at Athena who pursed her lips and nodded.

"You may but only five minutes. There are important issues the Gods must discuss." Zeus said importantly. Hermes snorted lously as Poseidon muttered something about the 'important issues' being weather and whether Zeus' beard looked half decent. Some of the other gods snickered as well and Zeus glared at his brother who gave him a cheeky smile. The Lord of the Skies huffed.

"Be quick about it." There was numerous flashes of light and the Olympians save Athena disappeared. The goddess stood and shrunk to human size and walked in front of her son.

"Malcolm, what is so important that you would have to come to Olympus?" Athena watched her son unwavering as he clenched his fists, holding her gaze.

"Mother, I don't agree with what you are doing to Annabeth and Percy!" He said loudly. For a second something changed in Athena's eyes and Malcolm became worried.

"I thought I gave-" For a second her eyes were unfocused before she fixed them on him.

"Mother-?"

"Insolent boy! I thought I told you to keep them apart! You have failed me! You are not worthy-" The more she continued the more her eyes changed colour from their usual startling grey to a green-brown. _Earth_, Malcolm realised. Gaia was controlling his mother.

~oOo~

**I'll make a deal with you. Over 20-30 (Even better. 50) reviews and you get an extra long chapter by the end of the week as long as I have time. I've got it all planned out, I just have to write it. I would really like 50 reviews but 20-30 is great. More reviews and the longer the chapters...**

**Elmo out. :P**


	7. Answers

**I am very thankful for your reviews! Sorry about my late updates. Yeah, yeah, no need to lose sleep. Sheesh, tough crowd... anyway, I was reading some good stories. Well, disclaimer to You-know-who ;) and here is your extra long chapter! READ ON! (Warning: disturbing scenes.)**

~oOo~

Rachel yawned widely and rubbed her green eyes. She had immediately yelled for help when Annabeth and Percy had passed out and now they were in the infirmary. Chiron said something about the shock from seeing old memories or something. That was understandable. Considering some pictures, she figured she would've passed out from shock as well. She glanced at the canvas drawings and a shudder passed through her. Probably the worst was well, she tried not to think about that one and instead let her gaze pass to the one beside it, a picture of Percy. He was flat out on a dais, white with pain, his face haunted. There was shackles on his wrists and ankles. They were rusty and blood poured from the wounds they cut into his skin. Kronos, bent of Percy's forearm cutting with a poisoned knife, slowly and harshly. Kronos, now he was probably the worst. Blood red robes covered most of him but the flesh shown was gruesome by itself. As if the skin had been stripped off, uncovering the muscles underneath, raw veins pumped and occasionally blood dripped down his arms from the burnt sinew of his body. Rachel silently thanked the gods that a hood covered his face. Only Percy's face showed the disgust at whatever was under. Annabeth was passed out in a corner, bleeding badly and bruised, her hair singed on the ends and shackles cut into her flesh as well. Her ankle was bent at a sickening angle and was swollen. The other images were just as terrible, showing monsters who had been killed then tortured. One of Medusa was terrible. Her snake hair was also stripped of skin and black-blue-green blood dripped in continous streams. The bones of her face showed clearly and in some places broke the skin. Feeling bile rise in her throat, Rachel swallowed turned away and looked at the two who had survived the ordeal. Their cots were next to each other and they held hands across the space. Rachel sighed deeply.

"Mal..." Annabeth groaned, muttering in her sleep. Rachel frowned. She hadn't seen Malcolm since this morning when he had arrived at Camp. An image made her bend forward and press her hands against her temples. _Malcolm on the ground in front of Athena. But wait, that wasn't Athena, not truly. Her eyes were green-brown, earthy not at all like her unusual stormy grey. She advanced towards him. There was a flash of green light and Athena crumpled. Poseidon stood behind her, trident pointed at where the wisdom goddess had stood moments earlier. He frowned and looked at Rachel's subconciousness. _

_"Tell them, Oracle. Gaia tries to corrupt us. A quest is needed. They must go to the Doors of Death."_ Rachel sat up, groaning from the on-coming headache. She remembered what happened and rushed into the Rec room, tossing water onto the hot plate and grabbed out a drachma. She tossed it in.

"Fleecy, do me a solid, show me Malcolm on Olympus." The mist shimmered and Malcolm's bloodied face appeared. His back was against a pillar and Athena was passed out in front of him. Apollo walked over frowning.

"Honestly, you demigods should learn not to get hurt so much." A blunt arrow whacked his head.

"Ow!" He turned and glared at his sister, "What was that for?!" He demanded.

"You forget your immortal _little_ brother!" She sneered, turning away and stalking to her throne. Apollo turned back to the demigod and his Oracle, grumbling. He proceeded to heal Malcolm then turned to Athena. Malcolm wobbled to his feet and faced Rachel's image. She was frowning at him.

"What are you doing on Olympus?" She questioned, putting her hands on her hips.

"How did you know I'm here?" He shot back copying her pose.

"Annabeth talks in her sleep. Now, _why are you here?_"

"Athena had been telling me to break up Percy and Annabeth. I finally said no. They barely get enough peace and quiet anymore." He sighed. Rachel nodded slowly.

"Yeah, well, their both kind of..."

"What?"

"...knocked out?" She squeaked. Malcolm felt his eyebrows shoot up.

"What happened?"

"Those pictures gave them a bit of a...shock. Oh and they need to go on a quest soon. Poseidon said to tell Chiron. Something about the Doors of Death?" Malcolm frowned again, his thoughts spinning.

~oOo~

Annabeth groaned and pressed her hands to her face in a vain attempt to stop the throbbing headache that ensued her earlier faint. She glanced over at Percy who was slowly waking, mumbling something undecipherable.

"Rachel?" She called. Her voice was hoarse and she grabbed the nectar that was sitting next to her and took a small sip.

"Rachel?" She called a bit louder. The Oracle of Delphi rushed into the room and steadied Annabeth as she tried to sit up.

"Careful. Chiron said you jut experienced something called psychogenic shock. Don't stand up for a while." Annabeth nodded and sipped a bit more nectar and felt her headache start to go away. On further inspection, Rachel didn't look so good. She was paler than usual and a hint of green tinted her cheeks. Her green eyes drooped with exhaustion and her hair seemed a bit more frizzy than usual, like she had seen something that had scared her and stayed up half the night. Percy groaned as he rolled over, almost falling off the cot.

"Woah!" He eyes snapped open as he braced himself with his hand, placing it on the floor. He rolled back onto the cot and grudgingly sat up, massaging his head. He glanced over at them.

"Can I have some of that nectar please Annabeth?" She passed the glass over and he took a sip before rubbing his eyes and placing the glass back on the table, half full.

"What happen-"

"You passed out from psychogenic shock or something. At least that's what Chiron made it sound like." **(A/N: Correct me if I'm wrong with the shock thing. It was on the net. I blame Google...)**

"Lovely. Big words and I just woke up. Please tell me it's not the apocalypse." Rachel frowned.

"Why would it be the apocalypse? I think you hit your head..." Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"He's Seaweed Brain, that's why."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Annabeth." He said sarcastically, sitting up a bit further.

"Anything new, Rachel?" Annabeth asked. The red turned to them with a worried expression.

"Gaia's back."

~oOo~

**(A/N: Heheh! I got you! Spoiler: Gaia's only back** **_partially_.)**

The head counsellors, Chiron, Rachel, Jason and Thalia sat in the rec room.

"We need a quest. Some how Gaia is back and she starting to wreak havoc bit by bit. If she can possess Athena then she's still a danger to us. Obviously she sees Percy and Annabeth as a threat. Well, maybe having a grudge against them might work better because they were the preferred sacrifices and they slipped through her fingers. Poseidon said three must go, no more no less. Chiron, this _has_ to happen. It must have something to do with the Door of Death-" Rachel's speech was interrupted by her lurching forward, eyes shut tight and gasping.

"Percy and Annabeth-their quest." She gasped, sitting upright and breathing hard from the image she had just seen. Jason frowned and looked at the two that Rachel had just indicated. They were both pale as they sat next to each other, holding hands.

"I'm not really sure it's wise to send them on another quest. If it's the Doors of Death then shouldn't we send others?" Chiron shook his head at the praetor.

"No Jason. Your quest was unique. If Rachel has seen something that is to come it would be wiser to follow that. Not even the gods dare tamper with fate." **(A/N: I really hope that sounded like Chiron. I always saw him as a sort of old school teacher...*crosses fingers*)**

"Percy, my boy, will you accept the quest?"

"No." He shook his head. "I'll go but, pick someone else to lead. I've had my fill with leading things." Annabeth cast him a loving glance and he kissed her forehead. Chiron sighed in a resigned manner. Jason felt sorry for the poor guy. After so many years of teaching heroes he must've had some pretty bad times. Instead, Chiron turned to Malcolm who had returned.

"I know you have always wanted the chance to lead a quest. As Athena is your mother and you were one of the first told perhaps it is your turn to step up." Malcolm nodded.

"I accept the quest." Chiron inclined his head for a second.

"As the fates decree, you must take Percy and Annabeth with you." Malcolm had no objection to the two coming. Each extremely experienced and both were good shield mates. Malcolm couldn't really think of anyone better than those two to accompany him.

"Of course Chiron." He turned to Rachel. "What is the fate of my quest?" Like an intake of breath, Rachel straightened unnaturally and thick green mist spewed out of her. He glanced at his sister for a second and saw Percy visibly shudder. Apparently he didn't like the Oracle spouting prophecies that much. Malcolm frowned fiercely and faced Rachel again.

**(A/N: Assuming the mortal side of the Doors is in Greece. No offense Grecian people! We all love you! This _is_ historical fiction...:P)**

"The ancient lands, three must travel,

And earth's plan shall unravel,

One will come an inch from death,

To be saved from their mother's breath." Rachel collapsed and the Stolls caught and set her down gently. Other than that not a sound permitted in the air.

"Well, that was shorter than usual." Annabeth said wryly. People raised their eyebrows at her. "What?"

"Nothing." Someone muttered.

"Your seem to be getting your humour back." Piper joked to her friend. Annabeth shrugged and gave a small smile. Malcolm looked shocked. Did the last line mean Athena or Sally? He wasn't sure. In theory Sally would be the obvious choice. Athena didn't talk much with her children unless they did something great. He shook his head and muttered his excuses before heading out the door to pack for quest tomorrow.

~oOo~

Piper and Jason were walking along the beach holding hands and talking about the new quest.

"Are you sure they can take it?" Jason seriously questioned the choice of making Annabeth and Percy go.

"Jason, they've been through more than this. They'll be fine." She stopped and faced him, taking both his hands. He had the worried look of someone who had a lot on their mind.

"I just-" Jason continued but stopped when voices reached their ears, carried further by the wind.

"-don't want to go. I thought we were done with quests. After this, promise we won't go on quests anymore."

Piper pointed to the pier where Percy and Annabeth were sitting just holding each other. Malcolm had told Chiron about Athena and the centaur had lifted the ban.

"Percy. I don't want to do this anymore than you but why would the Fates decide that we have to risk our lives again?" The daughter of Athena sounded hysterical.

"I don't know Annabeth. Maybe I should've asked that they don't mess with my life instead." Laughter rang in the air as Annabeth let loose her mirth.

"That wouldn't be very wise." Percy laughed as well.

"You would know Wise Girl."

"Idiot." she muttered. Percy ribbed her and she started laughing again.

"Percy-stop-st-" Another fit of laughter started followed by a splash. Piper covered her mouth to stifle her own laughter. She glanced at Jason and he leaned down.

"I don't think they've laughed for how many weeks now?" Piper shrugged. She didn't really know either. Another splash and the two looked over to see Percy pulling Annabeth into the water. She was protesting profusely but it didn't seem to matter to Percy. He was still dragging her into the water.

"Percy!" She shrieked. She was laughing though and they actually seemed to be enjoying themselves for at least a bit. Piper frowned as Percy pushed Annabeth under.

"What is Percy doing?" She asked when the two didn't come up for five minutes. Jason scowled.

"Percy reckons he can make a bubble underwater or so he's told me. I really don't want to know _what_ their doing. We'll just leave them be." They turned around and started walking only to get a few metres when water hit the back of their heads. They spun quickly and saw Annabeth standing knee deep, drenched and pointing at Percy who was laughing his head off so hard he fell over into the water.

"What the hell, Annabeth?" Jason frowned in the blonde's direction and she grinned at him.

"Percy's fault." She said simply. Two arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her up. Percy had come back up and slung her over his shoulder.

"Oh, you are going _down_ Wise Girl!"

"Seaweed Brain, put me down." she growled and thumped his back.

"Ow."

"What are you doing, Percy?" Jason called. The green eyed boy looked up.

"Hey, if I'm going on another dangerous quest I want to have some fun especially since I've had to stay away from _this_," He bumped Annabeth a bit, "lovely lady here. Join us if you want." For once Percy looked almost back to his old self. Jason shrugged.

"'Spose." Percy grinned evilly.

"More people to drench!" Jason looked wary. Maybe joining the two wasn't the best idea. Percy turned and tossed Annabeth into the water before diving in after her. Jason turned to Piper.

"Leave or stay?" He asked. Piper smiled.

"Just sit?" They both sat down.

~oOo~

Later that night, Percy lay on his bed, exhausted from earlier. After finally seeing Annabeth for a week as well as the ban lifting, he was really happy but now, on the eve of his 'last' quest he was back to his saddened mood. Annabeth was packing for him because he was too lazy. She had a list for the gods' sake, a _list_. Typical daughter of Athena. Percy shook his head. He was annoyed with the gods. Right when he was trying to get over something worse he had to go back and do something _else_.

"Annabeth, are you done yet? I want to go to sleep and the light on isn't helping." Annabeth frowned at him.

"In a second." She went into the bathroom to change into her pyjamas. When she came out Percy was barely awake.

"Seaweed Brain." She muttered and got in beside him.

~oOo~

**If that isn't long I don't know what is. With the week, I was going on my time and I was talking about a 7 day week. Yeah, okay call me mean, whatever. Kill me for sending them on a quest, blah, blah. I'm open to questions. Just not about later chapters. Gotta keep some of it secret. 10 reviews and I'll update. I would've updated quicker except we had cousins over and of course common courtesy. There's some Percabeth and Jiper for ya, question, courtesy of a Guest review. Ask and receive lovely people, I'm open to ideas!**

**Elmo loves ya's! **


	8. Arriving in Greece

**Peeps, your killing me. Okay, I ask for 10 measly reviews and I get over 15. *Huff* Just have to update...Do I ****_write_**** like Rick Riordan? No, so stop asking, sheesh, I'm not that good...:P. Umm, something else...reviewer who guesses which character will come an 'inch from death' gets a shout out. To the guest review about good stories, start with my profile as a suggestion. Most of the stories I read I like so they're favourited. After that, go to other authors profiles, their favs, etc. Simple as that. Enjoy your slaved-over chapter! ;)**

~oOo~

"Percy!" Annabeth shook the black haired boy's shoulder. He rolled over but didn't wake up.

"Seaweed Brain! _Wake up!_" She practically yelled. He still didn't move. She sighed and punched his shoulder.

"Ow." He glared at her through one eye. "Why is my girlfriend so mean to me?"

"Because you didn't get up and we have a quest to go on!" She retorted.

"Smarty Pants...go check if Mrs. O'leary is here. We'll use her to shadow-travel to Greece." He rolled over again and Annabeth scowled.

"No, your getting up."

"Percy? You up yet?" Malcolm called from the doorway. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder and his sword hung by his side. A knife was strapped to his forearm and a shield was slung over his back, next to the bag.

"Call your sister off man. She's dangerous," Percy sat up rubbing his eyes and looked at Malcolm sleepily. "And so are you apparently." He mumbled, rolling out of his bed and landing on the floor with a thump. He stumbled into the bathroom as the two siblings watched.

"He is _so_ hard to get up in the morning." Annabeth shook her head and Malcolm agreed. She pulled up the sheets and grabbed her own back pack up off the floor, stuffing her (now working) Yankees cap into her pocket. 10 minutes later Percy emerged from the bathroom, hair messy, eyes bleary, stumbling as he went, tripping over his still-to-be-laced sneakers. He was wearing the usual jeans, orange camp shirt that was well worn and a light jacket over top. Annabeth frowned and bent down to tie his laces.

"Thank you." He muttered before grabbing the bag Annabeth had prepared last night and walking out the door toward the arena. The siblings caught up to him and follwed him into the arena where some newbies were practicing their swordsmanship.

"Out of camp's the other way losers!" The kid who called out was a son of Ares who had come to camp maybe two weeks ago. Percy threw him a death glare and the kid shrank back a teensy bit. The son of Poseidon gave a loud whistle and Mrs. O'leary bounded into the arena. She must've been in the forest. The Ares kid snarled and readied his sword before charging at the huge hellhound. Percy disarmed the newbie easily and pushed him into the dirt.

"That's my dog. Watch were you aim that sword or I'll take it off you. I don't have the time now beacause of a very important quest. If you do that again I will dump in the lake so _back off_." Percy growled. He joined the two Athenian siblings on Mrs. O'Leay's back before glancing down at the punk.

"I do actually know where you exit camp. I'm just using a round-a-bout way." Percy then leant forward and whispered in the dog's ear. She perked up and bounded straight into the nearest shadow which happened to be the Ares kid's.

~oOo~

Mrs. O'Leary came out of a shadow in Greece, near the Doors of Death. Percy vaguely remembered Nico saying something about Epirus and the Doors being something close or whatever. Percy didn't really care. The trio slid off the hellhound and onto the ground. The street they were in was deserted and seemed a bit lonely.

"Nice place." Malcolm said sourly. Annabeth just realised that, if they were still alive at the end of this, she could drag Percy (and Malcolm) to the Parthenon. Her mind whirled with the images she had seen of it. If only she could visit...No, they had to finish the quest first.

"Come on." She surged ahead of the two boys. They followed her with brisk strides as they wove through the streets of the ancient city.

"Percy, once this is finished do you think we could take a detour to the Parthenon?" Annabeth asked. Percy gave her a small smile.

"I know you've wanted to see it. Might as well while we're in the area." Annabeth beamed at him.

"Thanks Seaweed Brain."

"Hello?! We are on a quest here." Malcolm interrupted.

"I know that. I was just asking." Annabeth shot back as they came to the Doors. It shocked Percy. Apparently someone had decided it would be bright to open the darn things an inch. Sure, they had dispelled part of Gaia's immense consciousness, shutting down the other half of her and ruining any chance of her rising again, but this, with the Doors open made it that much more terrible. After all they went through just to have to close the mortal side again. Percy was seriously PO'd with the gods. Thunder rumbled and he glared at the sky before turning to Annabeth.

"How do we close these?" She frowned fiercely as she calculated the mass, etc.

"If we-"

"Guys, turn around, _now_." The two turned to see Malcolm knocking an arrow on his bow and aiming at the monsters head. Thorn grinned evilly.

"We meet again Percy Jackson. I hope you are prepared to die. You never close those Doors." Percy felt a mass of panic rise in his chest. The manticore was back.

~oOo~

**'Cause I just love torturing you with cliffies. You lot made me feel guilty with all your nice reviews. It made me have to update. I apologise for this chapter being rather short, in fact it's around the 1000 mark so please don't complain too much. Yeah, I know short chapters are killers. Woe to me! Bless your reviews. Remember, people who guess the question at the start get a shout out...:D**


	9. Closing the Doors 2

**Okay my loyal readers, you deserve this after the last chapter nine, which was crap. I'm leaving the shout outs there so yes, you lot still get a shout-out. Honestly, does Rick Riordan have to write a disclaimer? Shout out to:**

**allen r**

**Jessieeeeeeee**

**Lissy**

**zeyakay**

**horsebugballs24 (weird name but creative)**

**Mythomagic101**

**HolleyS**

**and...**

**that's it. I think...Umm. To that guest review about whether I'm a boy or girl, the latter. To Piano player3, I will try to check out your story and review. It sounds pretty good but, in the meantime...**

** Enjoy your new chapter!**

~oOo~

Malcolm's arrow flew and hit the manticore in the neck. It didn't do much harm except make the monster roar.

"Why didn't that do much?" Percy shouted.

"The Apollo kids used most of the celestial bronze arrow heads and the Hermes cabin stole those that were left. These are your average iron! Besides-" He was but off as the monster roared loudly as some_thing_ stabbed it's hide.

Thorn roared again and lashed out, shooting spikes at the demigods. An_ oof_ sounded off to his left as Percy crashed into Malcolm's body, pushing the blonde boy behind a large rock. Annabeth appeared behind them, making Malcolm jump. Percy kept his eyes trained on the monster. He was so used to Annabeth disappearing and reappearing now that it didn't surprise him much any more.

"Percy, you need to distract Thorn. Malcolm, take cover here and shoot arrows at him. As many as you can. I'll help Percy."

"Annabeth-"

"No, Malcolm. Stay _here_. We've got to push him towards the Doors. Considering how large they are we might need his weight and strength. If we can get him to charge that might be enough for-"

"Demigods! Come out from your hiding! I do not wish to have to drag you from your hole like a scared rabbit! Face me!" Thorn bellowed. Percy went to get up but Annabeth grabbed the front of his shirt and kissed him.

"For luck." She whispered. Malcolm gagged.

"Please go before you make me throw up."

"Dude, get a girlfriend." Percy left, walking forward confidently and shouting insults. The clang of spike glancing off metal sounded as Percy started his attack.

"Stick to the plan, Mal. Maybe, just maybe we can do this." Annabeth patted her brother on the back before heading off to help her boyfriend. Malcolm poked his head out from behind the huge rock and almost got hit with a spike. Percy was yelling and Annabeth shouted, "HIYA!". A loud roar followed. Malcolm peeped over the rock and saw her dagger embedded in the monster's spine. Annabeth slammed on her cap and disappeared.

"Malcolm!" her voice hissed. A second later she became visible.

"I need your sword. Keep shooting arrows!" Malcolm handed his _xiphos_ hilt first to his sister.

"Be _careful_." Annabeth smiled.

"You know when Percy's around. If I get hurt, all Hades breaks loose."

"Still..."

"Malcolm, I'll be fine. I've fought him before. Focus on pushing him back." There was a mighty bellow followed by a yelp/roar that sounded like it was from the monster.

"BACK!" Percy bellowed. Thorn had pushed him towards the rock Malcolm and Annabeth were behind. Percy rage = not good to be on the receiving end. A bit of water vapour surrounded the son of Poseidon as he forced the monster back towards the Doors. Annabeth rushed to help, pushing Thorn to scramble backwards. Malcolm yelled, "DUCK!". The two demigods that were fighting Thorn head-on crouched down as Malcolm sent a volley of arrows towards the manticore. Now, his whole side was full of arrows and Thorn fell back, closer to the Doors. Percy stood in front of the manticore, back facing the Doors.

"You can't even throw straight!" He taunted. "You're obviously terrible at long range throwing, I'll bet you're just as bad with short!"

"Puny demigod! You dare insult my aim?! You will pay for such a thing!" Thorn did indeed charge. The siblings watched as Percy timed everything right. He jumped up, flipped and came down behind the monster as it smashed into the Doors. The Doors of Death moved about 2 _centimeters_. How annoying could they get? Thorn wheeled round and maybe twenty spikes at Percy who rolled out of the way. Giving up, the manticore growled and turned to Annabeth. Her cap was lying on the ground next to Malcolm. The manticore poured on the speed and looked like a blur. Malcolm assessed the situation and decided the best thing to do was knock Annabeth out of the way. Hopefully he would have enough time to move as well but, it was a false hope. Even as he thought of crashing into his sister, his feet were in motion, two steps, one. Annabeth hit the ground as Thorn shot more spikes. Malcolm vulnerable position left him open to attack and he felt immense pain as the spikes thudded into his side. The son of Athena stumbled and grasped his side, trying to staunch the flow of crimson blood. Malcolm blinked as, two feet away, Thorn exploded into dust. Percy stood, breathing hard, a fierce expression, Riptide poised, unmoving from the angle it had been driven into the monster's hide.

"Malcolm?" He rushed forward and grasped the younger boy's shoulders, setting him down gently. Annabeth came over, dagger at her belt once again. Her grey eyes widened to an unbelievable size as she took in her brother's wounds. A huge gash in his side, a spike embedded in his shoulder. Annabeth knelt and grasped the spike.

"Mal, this is going to hurt." Her voice was strained like she was trying to hold back tears. She took in a deep breath. "Percy, hold his shoulder." She got a better grasp on the spike.

"On the count of three...1, 2!" She yanked and Malcolm yelled.

"What the Hades happened to 3!?" He demanded. Annabeth shrugged.

"You might have clenched if I waited till three."

"You are the meanest sister ever." He glared at her, meaning every word but took them back as she handed him some ambrosia.

"Dude, you seriously got run faster."

"Hark, who's talking? Percy, you can't even outrun the _nymphs_. In _tree_ form." Annabeth slapped her boyfriend's shoulder.

"What?"

"Just shut up Seaweed Brain."

"Nice to know I have your support here!" Malcolm could see the _squabble_ coming on. Not a fight, a _squabble_.

"You-"

"Excuse me! Hurt person and no way to close the Doors!" Malcolm tried shouting...and failed miserably. Annabeth frowned, turning to her brother before studying the Doors. Percy sat next to Malcolm.

"Do you hate it?" Percy turned towards the injured boy.

"Huh?"

"Always getting hurt."

"Oh," Percy looked at Annabeth. "Yeah. It hurts more seeing someone you love getting injured, though." Malcolm nodded.

"Why are you so...calm?" Malcolm asked.

"I don't know. Guess I just have more practice than you do with quests. Even before I knew I was a half-blood I always had to kind of make due with little. I didn't have a very good childhood Malcolm. I didn't _want_ to go on all those quests. I didn't want to be part of those prophecies. Or this one, as a matter of fact." Percy shrugged and looked at Malcolm again. "You're a bit like me. A mother's boy. It's not hard to notice you want to get praise from your mother."

"Annabeth gets all the spotlight. _She's_ Athena's favourite." Percy raised an eyebrow.

"Bit of jealousy there?" Malcolm huffed as he watched his sister examine the Doors as much as she could.

"Dude, don't worry about it. You'll get noticed by Athena sometime."

"I wish. Annabeth has everything. Mom's praise, great friends, she's a brilliant architect." Percy frowned.

"Why am I not mentioned?"

"I'm saving myself the trouble of saying she has a love life and putting you under 'friends'. Easier to accept you two together that way as well."

"Huh, well, if it's mother who pays attention to you, you can always visit mine. She's like a frigging mother hen."

"Annabeth still has everything."

"What makes you think that?"

"_She_ is always in the spotlight! Always on important quests with _The Great Percy Jackson_! She's always in the spotlight because _you're_ always in the spotlight. You survived Tartarus for the Gods' sake! You're legends in the demigod world! Even at the Roman camp they respect _you_. Even Annabeth, they have a grudging respect for because she mended the rift between our two camps. She went against history and came out with a truse the Greeks and Romans have never seen!" Malcolm huffed and looked away.

"Never thought you saw it that way." Percy put a hand on Malcolm's good shoulder. "Mal, we _don't_ like the spotlight. Even surviving Tartarus comes with a price." He rubbed the scars on his left forearm and Malcolm took some time to study them.

"What did Kronos _do_ to you? I know he tortured you but I never knew it was this bad."

"Well, Mal, it gets a whole lot worse. Like now, for instance." A searing pain shot up Percy's arm and the son of Poseidon bit his tongue wincing and groaning.

* * *

**There is chapter nine...**


	10. Closing the Doors (continued) 2

**Kay chapter ten immediately. I'll explain at the bottom, Rick owns the characters, etc.**

Annabeth glanced over.

"I think I figured it- Percy? Are you alright?"

"And here she goes again, no, her brother certainly is not bleeding from wounds over. That's fine, I'm not important, focus on Percy who doesn't _have _any wounds." Malcolm said sarcastically. Percy doubled over, sweating beading his forehead. Annabeth rushed over with an extremely concerned look.

"_Styx_!" She swore. "Percy, try to ignore the pain!" She took out her water bottle and poured some water on him.

"It's not _helping_ Wise Girl." He growled tightly.

"Uh, care to explain?" Malcolm questioned. It obviously wasn't a put on to get Annabeth's attention.

"UGGHHH!" Percy shouted hoarsely. He lurched to his feet and punched the rock they had been leaning against.

"Oh-kaay." Malcolm mumbled.

"Percy." Annabeth grabbed the black haired boy's shoulders. He was shaking and pale.

"I'm fine-"

"Like hell."

"-what do we do to close the Doors?" He panted. The pain had receded in his arm to a dull throb. It still hurt, just not as bad. Annabeth looked down and scuffed her shoe against the ground. She felt bad. She wasn't hurt at all and here was Percy, weak and shaky from old wounds and Malcolm, with new, very dangerous wounds. And she was going to have to ask them to help.

"We need all three of us." She said quietly.

"Annabeth." Percy pulled her in for a one-arm hug, holding his bad arm against his chest. "Doesn't mean we can't try."

"I don't _want_ you to help. Percy, your arm just had a spasm from the poison and Malcolm, well you are injured. I don't want either of you to get hurt worse or killed trying to close those Doors. Please-"

"Come on." Percy walked over to the Doors. "Now, where do I have to push?"

"The front, where a door knob would be." Her voice was like, _duh!_ Her face paled. "No! Percy don't-"

"Annabeth are you going to help me or not?" Annabeth took a second to make up her mind before nodding sharply. She took her place.

"PUSH!" She shouted. Percy threw his weight against the Door. They only had to go a few inches but it felt like he was holding the sky again. he vaguely heard Malcolm groan, felt water splash on him, giving strength to his limbs. The Door started forward extremely slowly. Mill by mill the Door inch-wormed closer to it's companion. Suddenly the extra push stopped.

"Malcolm!" Annabeth sounded angry. Percy abandoned his futile attempt and turned to see Malcolm leaning against the Door, white and panting heavily, blood gushing down his side. Annabeth's face was red. Percy could swear a small strip of her hair looked lighter than usual, almost..._grey_. With a sudden jolt he pulled his fringe down and found a little piece, not very big, turning a light tone. His gaze went back to Annabeth.

"What were you thinking?" She demanded. Woah, she looked mad. The sound was almost _motherly_. She must have been hanging around Sally too much, Malcolm thought. Then again, he'd never seen Percy's mother that much so he wouldn't know.

"You *cough* needed *wheeze* my-my _help_." He deteriorated in to a coughing fit, hacking and choking.

"Malcolm, you are _not_ helping while you're in this state!" She sounded hysterical as she used a hand to gesture wildly at his wounds. Malcolm looked at Percy who looked shocked, like he never knew his girlfriend could sound like that. _Perce, I need some help here!_ he pleaded silently. Apparently the older boy wasn't as thick as he seemed and Percy snapped out of his weird daze before striding forward and grabbing Annabeth's shoulder. She turned on him.

"I suppose you agree with him?" She planted her hands on her slim hips.

"Umm, yes and no." Percy scratched the back of his head, uncomfortable at how his girlfriend sounded like a _mother_. "I mean, I agree with you. He shouldn't help-"

"Hey!"

"- but, we need his help, Annabeth." He took her by the shoulders and looked her in the eye. "Just this once, Wise Girl. He can rest after that. Besides, the Doors are almost closed." He gestured behind him at the Doors which were indeed, almost closed. There was probably another inch to go. Annabeth huffed.

"I-" Percy kissed her, pulling away slowly.

"_Just this once_." He whispered. Annabeth looked torn between the decision. Agree with Percy or keep Malcolm on the ground. "Please." Percy said again, quietly. She sighed heavily.

"Fine," Percy grinned. "he has to rest afterwards though."

"You have a deal my lovely lady." Percy moved to help Malcolm stand. Annabeth watched as her brother went from pale to worse if that was possible.

"Per-"

"Annabeth, we had a deal. He can rest afterwards. There's only an inch left."

"Which may kill him!"

"Don't say things like that!" He argued.

"Can we- just *cough* get *cough, cough* on with- it?" Malcolm managed, hoarsely. He could swear they were like an old married couple. _Married_, He shuddered. Best leave those thoughts to the future. Annabeth sent both Percy and Malcolm a venomous look, turning to face the Doors.

"Hurry up. If we're going to do this there's not time like the present!" She snapped.

"Oh-kaay. Calm down when you want to..." Percy trailed off and went to the front of the Doors where he could push better.

"PUSH!" Annabeth yelled again except this time her voice was different, coated in anger. Malcolm heaved, throwing his weight against the Doors. The Doors inched forward. An echoing _BANG_ resounded as the Doors swung shut. Malcolm groaned and slumped to the ground barely breathing.

"No, Malcolm!" Annabeth knelt down and felt for a pulse. It was there but faint.

"Percy, I need an IM. To Athena. NOW, PERCY!" Percy hurried to draw water up from the ground. He tossed a drachma through the mist.

"O Fleecy, do me a solid, Show me Athena on Olympus." The image rippled and Athena appeared with the 400 BC style hair, an extremely white chiton that had a silvery grey when the fabric moved, her sandal where gold like the circlet in her hair, the colour of which was a rich brown and curly like Annabeth's.

"Why do you strive to communicate with me at this time?" The goddess questioned.

"Your son. He had wounds and insisted on-"

"You supported him Percy!" Annabeth called.

"Fine, you were right this once-"

"I'm always right!"

"Stop being so sure of yourself! Your fatal-"

"Seaweed Brain, just get my mother here!"

"Well, if you hadn't _insisted_ on arguing with me I might be able to tell her!"

"Did you already get her?" Annabeth asked with genuine surprise, standing up and walking over. Her grey eyes widened when she saw the IM of her mother, "Mother! Did Percy-"

"_As_ I was saying _before_ you interrupted me, Annabeth, Malcolm is close to death Lady Athena. He needs your help!" Athena looked suspicious.

"How do I know you are not lying?"

"Mom...?" Malcolm groaned.

"I'll go help him..." Percy turned to leave.

"Yeah, that'll be right. Leave the job to me!" She called.

"Gladly!" Percy yelled back.

"Insufferable, cute, incredibly annoying, Seaweed Brain!" She grumbled to herself, turning back to her mother.

"Does that mean you're going to break up with him?" Athena asked, raising an eyebrow. Annabeth looked shocked.

"What? No! I love him too much."

"Well, why have you requested this audience?"

"Like Percy said, Malcolm's hurt. He needs a god or goddess to heal him."

"Why not Apollo?"

"Prophecy line. Mother, please. I don't want him to die. He's too annoying to _not_ have around." Athena sighed.

"Mortals are incredibly strange sometimes. I will come, but only for my son."

"Thank you Mother!"

"Save your praises for later! I shall be present soon." and with that Athena slashed through the mist, cutting the connection. Annabeth ran to Malcolm's side.

"Is he alright?" Percy wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her close.

"He doesn't have long. You said Athena should be here soon. Annabeth, don't cry, please don't cry." Against her will, a tear streaked down her face only to be caught on Percy thumb as he brushed it off.

"You know I hate it when you cry, Wise Girl."

"I know." She sniffed loudly, trying to get rid of the tears unsuccessfully. Percy pulled her into a hug just as Athena appeared. She glanced curiously at the two and knelt by her son. She wasn't exactly a goddess of medicine but, she could heal wounds. What she would have to do is transfer some of her life force into Malcolm to jumpstart his body before healing his wounds. Even after, he would be weak. It was an old ritual and she started it as her daughter continued to cry silently into the sea spawn's shirt. She was still slightly reluctant to accept their relationship but the more she thought about it, the more she found she didn't really mind. Annabeth seemed happy and Athena came to the conclusion that that would be enough for her. She would follow Barnacle Beard's example and step out of their affinity towards each other. She had just finished the crux of the ritual and Malcolm's breathing eased, his eyes fluttered open but he lay still as his mother finished healing him. As the last wound healed Annabeth pulled the sea spawn closer to her and kissed him. Athena stared at them, slightly repulsed.

"Don't worry Mom. They do that all the time." Malcolm stated dryly. Annabeth pulled away blushing. She, very lightly, punched her brother in the shoulder.

"We do not. Besides, Percy's the one that got the Iris message up." Annabeth got up and hugged her mother who was a little shocked and started to pull back. Athena glanced at Percy who mimed hugging someone. Athena tried it. Maybe all this hugging stuff wasn't so difficult after all. Percy smiled. It was obvious Athena had barely ever hugged anyone before. Annabeth stood back and said thank you before walking back to Percy who wrapped an arm around her, smiling like he had won the jackpot. Athena bent down to help Malcolm up. He stumbled a bit but Athena was a goddess, she had enough strength to lift a mountain. She steadied him and he sent her a grateful smile before wobbling a bit again.

"I might take him back to camp for you. Annabeth, if you want to stay overnight in Greece just ask Hermes. He owes me from a bet." Her daughter bowed slightly.

"Thank you Mother." Percy nodded.

"Thank you Lady Athena." The goddess smiled before disappearing, taking her son with her. Percy turned to Annabeth.

"So, what do you want to do?" Annabeth smiled widely.

"Oh I don't know, maybe visit the Parthenon?" She said with a cheeky smirk. Percy rolled his eyes.

"Sure Wise Girl."

"Always know when to agree, don't you?"

"Nah, I can be pretty stubborn."

"How about when I'm involved?"

"_Especially_ when you're involved."

"Come on Seaweed Brain, I want to go see the Parthenon."

Later a young couple walked through the ruins of the Parthenon. They looked like they were enjoying themselves whilst babbling to each other in a different language. They laughed and pointed at things. They came to a picture of Poseidon, Artemis and another god. No one heard the young man whisper, "Hey Dad!" and no on noticed the young woman smile and whisper back "What about Artemis?" An hour or two later they left to go to a hotel, smiling like they knew something the world didn't.

**Okaaaaaaaaay peeps. I ended up splitting chapter nine cause it was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo long so you get chapter ten immediately as well. 20 reviews maybe?**


	11. Returning and leavingfor a BIT

**Sooooo, this idea has been floating around in my head ever since I was listening to a song by Maroon 5 'cause they're brilliant. I thought Rick was currently writing House of Hades, not AGTW. Crazy people, seriously. Shout outs will be at END of chapter so...READ ON!**

* * *

Annabeth felt a slight cold and moved closer to Percy, tingles sparking where their bare skin touched. She glanced at her watch and saw 10:50. It was time to get up. She shook Percy very slightly and he opened one eye.

"Yes?" His voice was low and scratchy. Annabeth smiled and got out of bed, slipping into a dressing gown.

"Would you like some coffee?"

"And blue pancakes maybe?" She ran a hand through his hair.

"Sure." He started snoring lightly and Annabeth shook her head, smiling before leaving to make the blue pancakes.

* * *

Piper felt a shiver run through the air and the shadows seemed deeper for a second before arguing voices reached her ears.

"-have to go! You know that Annabeth!"

"But why so soon!? I'm sure Poseidon won't care if you stay another night!"

"I hate it when Mom and Dad fight." Leo said. Piper jumped.

"Where did you come from?"

"Forges." He pointed to the lit up forge with a hammer from his belt.

"What do you mean you-"

"-hate it when Mom and Dad fight? Oh, yeah, Percy and Annabeth practically run the camp you know. Besides, they're like an old married couple..." He trailed off shuddering. "They're mad." He whispered before turning around to sneak back to the forges. He made one step before Annabeth's voice cut through the air.

"What was that Leo?" She asked sweetly.

"Nothing...mom." He added the last word in less than a whisper. Piper started laughing and she felt arms wrap around her.

"And, what would you be laughing about Pipes?" Jason asked. He had made the trip to the Greek camp last night.

"Ask...Leo!" She burst out into another laughing fit, holding her stomach and doubling over. Leo looked at Piper and started laughing as well.

"Dude, sooo _fun_ny." He wiped tears from his eyes, placing a hand on Jason's shoulder. Jason sent him a confused look.

"What's funny?"

"Leo was just saying how Percy and Annabeth are like the parents of the camp. He was calling them Mom and Dad." Thalia greeted her younger brother.

"Thals! How are the Hunters?" Jason hugged his sister.

"Fine, little brother."

"When are you going to stop calling me that?" Jason sounded exasperated.

"'Till the day you die 'Lil bro."

"Now that's worse." Thalia shrugged.

"Where have Kelp Head and Annie got to? I heard them arguing before." Piper looked around and realised Thalia was right. The two had seemingly disappeared.

"We should probably find them. I don't want a dead cousin." Jason muttered. Leo backed away.

"No way man. I'm not coming. Annabeth would probably rip my head off for what I said. I'm goin' back to the forges." And indeed he did turn on his heel and walk over to his siblings. Thalia started walking to the Poseidon cabin.

"They're either here or in the arena." She said as she walked. She was wearing her usual attire; ripped black jeans, punk belt, combat boots, death to Barbie shirt, leather jacket with rock bands on it in the form of pins, her hair was still short-ish and spiky. She now had a small streak of blue in the fringe and her diadem like tiara was placed on her head. Aegis in bracelet form adorned her wrist and she still had the think eyeliner on, making her blue eyes brighter and in startling contrast to her pale skin. She pushed the door open to find an empty cabin. It was cleaner than usual so Tyson must have been through.

"Arena then." She said before turning swiftly and walking quickly, not waiting for the others to catch up. The sound of metal on metal found their ears as well as aggravated voices. The two followed Thalia into the arena and were greeted by the sight of Percy and Annabeth fighting. Literally. They were practicing their swordsmanship whilst arguing vocally. Malcolm stood off to the side with a frown, wondering whether he should intervene.

"Hey Mal." Thalia greeted the son of Athena. "How long have they been at it?"

"Maybe 15 minutes." He shrugged. "Should we intervene? Seriously, Annabeth looks really..." He trailed off uncomfortably.

"I know. Let's give them another five minutes. With luck they might give up."

"Percy, I don't want you to go. Not so soon." Annabeth stopped fighting and sheathed her dagger. Percy put _Anaklusmos_ back in his pocket before taking a hand in his own.

"Wise Girl, just for tomorrow. I'll stay with you tonight and be back by the afternoon. _Just for tomorrow_." He repeated. Piper watched her friend's will power crumble as she stepped into Percy's arms. She said something in-audible.

"Well," Thalia began. "that was easy." Piper sighed.

"Someone better check on them later."

"Shot not." Thalia exclaimed. "No way am I checking on those two!" She sounded disgusted which makes sense. After all, she was still a Hunter.

"Fine," Piper sighed. "I don't think Malcolm wants to."

"Nope. Going with them on a quest was enough for me. I'm not going into details either besides, I've gotta practice." He walked off unsheathing his _xiphos_ before finding a dummy and started hacking at it. Once again Piper felt Jason's arms wrap around her.

"I can come if you want me to."

"Thanks Jason." She smiled at him and gave him a light kiss.

* * *

Later, Percy was laying on his back, holding Annabeth as she slept. He though about last night and smiled. This was something he lived for. He brushed back her bangs and played with a curl. He didn't want to leave and, as he looked outside to see the stars fading, he realised that this day would've still come no matter what. It didn't help a bit as he sighed thinking about having to leave her...again. The timing wasn't brilliant but he would be happier once he had gotten his answer. No one knew yet and he couldn't stop thinking about whether she would give the answer he _really_ wanted. When dawn came he gently extricated himself from Annabeth's tight grasp and walked to the door, taking a moment to look back and take in the scene of his girlfriend sleeping peacefully. Again, he smiled, maybe just a little sadly and left, trudging across the gap between the cabins. He finally got to the beach and stood on the sand with his hands in his pockets, wondering whether he should just go back. He realised what he wanted and was about to walk into the water when a voice called out: "Where are you going Percy?"

"To my father's court, Piper. Just for a bit." The daughter of Aphrodite walked silently to his side and looked at him sideways.

"How about why?" She asked softly.

"Piper, I've made a decision and I want to ask her soon. I honestly wouldn't know what I would do without Annabeth and I want to make it official. Then it won't matter if we do sleep in the same bed, it won't matter if we do what we want. I've really got to do this now." He gazed out to sea and Piper thought he bared similar appearance to a god, though still not as good looking as Jason of course.

"Go for it Percy. I know she'll say yes. I can see it in her eyes every time she looks at you. There is no doubt she loves you. Just ask. When you do she'll understand." He turned to her and his eyes looked slightly luminous in the soft morning light.

"I know." He said softly. Just as the sun came up and bathed light onto the whole camp Percy Jackson dove into the waves leaving a daughter of Aphrodite wishing him all the luck he could get.

* * *

** Give me a sec...shout outs, shout outs. Hmm I think these people deserve some:**

**candyland7: Thank you. Never knew I was amazing. Actually people tend to call me strange...**

**HeySilllyUnicorn (guest): You made my day. Nice name and you are officially awesome!**

**aesir21: Cheers! I know, right!**

**thisisinga: Sorry I 'pooped on your dreams'. Hopefully this will make it up to you!**

**Thank you for all your supports peeps. I love it. Sorry for the endings lately. You keep thinking I'm ending the story. I'm only ending the CHAPTER! I'll try and update more. My English teacher said I might be able to if I finish my work before other people do cause we get laptops this year! Yes, I know my school is awesome. Next weekend I might not be able to either. I can't remember but either I have ponyclub or I'll be putting up a new fence because a creek washed one out and my grandparents place not to mention my idiot horse decided to swim through the creek that washed out the fence. He lucky he didn't get hurt because there was barbed wire. My horse will be the death of me someday. Might update later in the week and I should go because my bro is pissed off with me because I was hogging the computer. By the way, this story ain't ending for a while yet so you'll have to put up with me. ;P See if you can guess which song it was based on! There will also be WAY more fluff chapter after next! Sorry!**

**Hint: Sung by Maroon 5.**


	12. The most pondered question

**Coolgirl786xx gave me this idea and to her it is dedicated! Actually she suggested that Percy and Poseidon have some bonding time. Have I ever mentioned before that my fingers have a mind of their own? Well, now you know. I never actually know what I'm going to write so this went a bit astray to the original idea. I don't know how Rick writes on an idea. I get an idea then it just branches off into a completely different thing. My stories would be randomly written...**

* * *

Annabeth woke as light streamed into the room, leaving an after-image of blinding whiteness behind. She sat up an stretched, looking about to find Percy. She hadn't felt him leave before. Maybe she had just been too tired to notice.

"Percy?" She called. There wasn't an answer. A panic rose up in her. What if Hera had taken him away again? What if he got a quest that she didn't know about? No, Percy would have told her. She froze as she grabbed an orange shirt. She didn't think he would go to see Poseidon so early. Usually Percy wasn't an early riser so he must've stayed up all night. Annabeth wanted to kick something in frustration at forgetting where her boyfriend had gone. And that she didn't hear him leave. A demigod could die whilst they were sleeping if they didn't hear anything. She dashed into the bathroom to get dressed and left for the Mess Hall. The smell of breakfast wafted to her as she entered, waving at Piper who gave her a small smile, like she knew something Annabeth didn't. Annabeth opted for some raisin toast that was pre-buttered, tossed some into the flames, earning the smell of a fresh book that had a hint of sea smell. Poseidon must have been watching.

"So, what are you hiding?" Annabeth said as she plopped down on the seat next to her friend. Piper flashed her a grin before taking a bite out of Annabeth's raisin toast.

"That information is for me to know and you to find out." She said mysteriously.

"Please Piper. You _know_ how I hate not knowing things!" Annabeth gave her a pleading look.

"Yes I do but I also know that the information is not mine to tell."

"Who's is it then?"

"I can't tell you that either."

"Please Piper."

"Fine, it happens to concern your boyfriend."

"He's breaking up with me, isn't he?"

"No." Piper replied lightly. "He'll tell you when he's ready." She stood up and her chair scraped. "And now-"

"-you've got to go talk to Jason. I know. At least your boyfriend is _here_." Annabeth grumbled.

"Don't be so down Annabeth. It's unbecoming of you."

"Well thanks for your vote of confidence Piper. You know how I just love being negative."

"Don't worry. Percy said he'd be back by tonight."

"When did you talk to him?" Annabeth asked suspiciously. Piper laughed.

"Don't worry. He's not cheating on you. We were just worried about your argument yesterday that we decided to check on you two sometime. I happened to be up when he left. We had a little chat about what he's going to tell you."

"I hope it's not about what we did after the quest."

"And that was?" Annabeth blushed.

"None of your business Piper. I don't want another one of your sisters." Piper raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"You know I'll find out. I have my ways!" She said dramatically. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"I'll tell you if you tell me." Annabeth prompted.

"You just made it harder but no, I will not tell you. Depending on Percy's mood, he'll probably tell you this afternoon."

"Depending on his mood?"

"Yeah, he might be tired for all I know. But, the way he was talking this morning makes me think he really wants to bring up the subject so my guess would be he'll talk to you tonight." Piper shrugged. "I just hope he'll get the answer he so desperately wants." She walked off, leaving Annabeth to sit staring at her cold toast as more campers filed in.

"Annabeth? Are you sitting with us or the Aphrodite's?" One of her siblings called to her. She blinked, coming out of her whirl wind of questions that raced through her mind after Piper left. She nodded and headed over to her table. Throughout the day she went through her cabin's activities in mundane movements, not saying much, occasionally helping a newer camper with their bow, showing them how to notch an arrow and so on, otherwise she just let Malcolm lead for once while she pondered over Piper's words "-hope he'll get the answer he so desperately wants." Annabeth felt the answer should have been obvious to her but she just couldn't put her finger on it. Even more, she couldn't wait for Percy to be back and not just for an answer.

* * *

(Poseidon's Palace, under the sea)

"What if she says no?" Percy asked randomly. Poseidon sat next to him as they watched Tyson carefully make the ring Percy was going to give to Annabeth. If she said yes of course. Poseidon was in his usual attire, big guy, black beard, Hawaiian shirt, bermuda shorts and whatnot. The only thing that gave away his godly powers was the trident he held and the fact that he had no trouble being hundreds, if not thousands of metres under the water. And his eyes. Percy had been told that his eyes sometimes reflect the sea but Poseidon's WERE the sea. They showed a faint outline of his whole realm from black skies to warm days when the sea was calm. It made Percy wonder if he was just as unpredictable as his father. Out of all the gods it made sense for Poseidon to be the most random but still, he was a god and sentient beings always had some sort of vague pattern and temperament.

"Percy, I honestly wouldn't know. All my affairs with mortals," Percy winced. "were never permanent. Amphitrite was an arranged marriage. I highly doubt Annabeth will say no though so you don't have any problems."

"She might hate me for leaving too early or she'll get annoyed with something that I said or-"

"Enough. You'll be fine Percy." Poseidon gazed on as Tyson fiddled with the small ring before imbuing it with spells. The tiny wires looked so delicate that Percy doubted he could do much with them whereas Tyson had no problems as his huge hands worked with the metal easily.

"How does he do that?" Poseidon raised his eyebrows at his son who gave him the same look back.

"Rhetorical question."

"Now you sound like Athena."

"What did you expect? I live with her daughter."

"Mmmm. Point taken." They sat in silence, watching as Tyson worked happily. Amphitrite drifted over with a sour look. She sat down delicately on Poseidon's other side and stared down her nose at the ring in making.

"It's ugly." Was all she said. Percy frowned.

"Tyson's not finished yet." Amphitrite looked at her step-son in a disapproving manner.

"Obviously. Even a _dumb slave_ could tell you that."

"You offended my brother's work. Besides, I'm ADHD. What did you think I was going to say? 'Oh, yeah, it's not too bad'. Seriously…"

"Percy, please don't start a fight." Poseidon intervened.

"I wasn't going to." Percy glared at his father.

"Where's Annabeth when you need her?" Poseidon mumbled.

"Are you still dating that Athenian spawn?" Amphitrite spat. Percy glared at her from around his father.

"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?" He challenged.

"Actually I do have a problem with that! ATHENA was the one who beat my husband for the role of patron to Athens!" Amphitrite said hysterically.

"That's old news Amphitrite. Get with the times." Percy snorted.

"Don't talk to me like that Perseus!"

"Don't call me be my name!" Amphitrite huffed and crossed her arms angrily.

"Are you harassing my mother, Jackson?!" Triton called from where he was, slashing at dummies made from old seaweed.

"He is!" Amphitrite huffed. Triton stalked over angrily.

"Say sorry!" Percy scowled at him.

"And what am I? A child?"

"Yes!"

"At least I have the motivation to live life to the fullest! Immortals ENDURE. You live the first 1 000 years thinking 'oh, great. This is awesome. I'll be happy with this life forever'. Truth is, being immortal is worse than a mortal's life. At least we can make mistakes and look back on them rather than making one and living with it for the rest of our lives. What I'm trying to say is immortality has its joys but it also has it's faults. Death shapes us into what we are. Being immortal, it just isn't right. It's unfair. Why you would want to live forever is beyond me. Enjoy your immortal lives." Percy stood up and walked off, not going anywhere specific.

"Stupid. My mother would_ never_ treat a guest that way." Percy mumbled angry words as he walked away to somewhere. Anywhere as long as it was away from his immortal family. He found a small plateau that was secluded by seaweed. Natural arches of coral framed the sides and reminded him of Annabeth. Percy sat down on the ground and twirled Riptide through his fingers subconsciously. Five minutes later there was a flash of light and Triton appeared.

"What do you want?" Percy asked flatly.

"How did you know who I was?"

"Spies." Percy shot back sarcastically. A few fish swam into the clearing and Percy pointed to them. Triton nodded and sat down across from Percy.

"So, did you really mean what you said about immortality? Is that why you declined Zeus' offer?"

"Partially. I think you know the main reason. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people did." Percy said quietly.

"That Athenian spawn?" Percy glared at him.

"Why are you just as bad to my girlfriend as what Athena is to me? Her name is Annabeth." Percy growled. Triton held up his hands.

"Well sorry! Didn't mean to offend you!" He said sarcastically. Percy shot him another glare and the plateau sank into uncomfortable silence. 15 minutes went uninterrupted which was a record for Percy. He didn't think he could remember a time where he had been silent for so long. Not counting when he was eating. Even then he had trouble keeping quiet. Percy felt like yelling his family problems to the world. He was just about to say something when Triton broke the silence.

"Tell me about Annabeth then." Percy looked at his step-brother suspiciously.

"Why would you want to know?" Triton shrugged.

"Because it's obvious that you love her, as cheesy as that sounds. I want to know why." Percy sighed.

"Are you just asking this out of spite? Or because you want to know what it's like to have someone in your life that you love?" Triton went silent. Percy laughed.

"It's the second isn't it? For an immortal you haven't lived much." Percy smirked. Triton glared at him.

"Shut up."

"Now who's Mr Feisty. So you want to know about my relationship with Annabeth? Well, she's not perfect. No one is and no one should be. Heck, I'm not perfect but we even each other out. She's an egghead and I'm not real smart. She's organised, I'm not. She's the planner, I'm the just-do-whatever type of person. I 'spose you could say opposites attract. Which is true in a way. Magnets are like that." Triton laughed a little.

"Dude. That wasn't meant to be funny."

"It was weird though."

"No, I'm limited edition. Get it right."

"How the Hades am I related to you?" Triton exhaled heavily as he spoke. Percy shrugged.

"To me, Annabeth is perfect the way she is for all her little faults. Even if something annoys you at first you just learn to love it. Apparently Annabeth was once annoyed by my smirk. Or that's what she told me. I can vouch for the fact that I got on her bad side when I sent Medusa's head to Olympus. She was telling me they would consider it impulsive. Wasn't much use seeming as I am impulsive."

"When did you kill Medusa?"

"I don't know. I was twelve." Percy shrugged. Triton's mouth formed a small 'O' but Percy didn't notice. "I had help. Just ask G-man. He was awesome…"

"Ok."

"Honestly, this is another reason to NOT talk about past experiences." Percy grumbled.

"Sorry. But still. At your age now, I could understand but at 12. That's just ridiculous."

"Hmph. Tyson's probably finished. Or close to it." Without waiting, Percy stood and left the plateau, Triton following behind. Percy didn't acknowledge his step-brother the whole way to the outcrop that over-looked the Forges. Poseidon and Amphitrite were still there leaning against each other. Percy gave a small smile at the sight. He had never been quite sure if the two loved each other. There was never any public affection. Tyson was just putting the diamond and 6 little pearls on. Tyson's smile could not have been wider as it was when he finished the ring. He gave it a quick polish with a rag and ran straight up to Percy, his feet thundering like a mob of horses.

"Percy! I am done! Look!" He shoved the ring under Percy's nose and the son of Poseidon felt a smile almost split his face in half. It was beautiful yet elegant, not over the top so Annabeth couldn't have any complaints and the best bit…he didn't even have to pay a cent. All because of his father and his brother.

"Thanks big guy. This means heaps to me." Percy inspected the perfect ring with tears in his eyes.

"Don't cry brother. It is good?" Tyson's big brown eye was full of worry. Percy smile at him.

"I'm happy Tyson. It's…great. You didn't add anything to it, did you?" Tyson blushed.

"Tap the Diamond." Percy did. An elegant, shiny shield spiralled out seamlessly.

"You've seriously out done your self big guy."

"Was nothing. Like Annabeth's shield during the Titan war. Bends light." Percy concentrated on the Statue of Liberty for some reason. It came up.

"This is awesome! Thanks Tyson!" Percy's brother gave him a little push which was like having a draft horse lean against you.

"Go on. Ask her soon." Tyson grinned at him and went back to the Forges. Percy turned to his father.

"Thanks Dad. Honestly-"

"I know Percy. Do as Tyson told you. Go ask her. I'm sure the answer will be yes." He grasped his demigod son's forearm, smiling down at him. Triton grinned at his half-brother from next to his mother. He too came foreword and grasped Percy's forearm.

"I don't pretend to know but you'll do great." Percy frowned.

"Ok. I'd better go. It's almost night and Annabeth will murder me if I don't get back soon." Poseidon laughed heartily.

"She's already got him wrapped around her finger! Just wait until your married. It just gets worse." The god of the Sea winked at his mortal son.

"Goodbye Perseus." Amphitrite sniffed.

"You too Your Highness." Percy muttered. Amphitrite didn't catch the sarcasm though. She smiled and Percy frowned before swimming up. As soon as he stepped onto the beach at camp he was hit with a body topped with blonde hair.

"Percy! Where the Hades were you? Piper said you would be back soon and then she was saying how you had something to tell me and I was worrying that you were going to break up with me and-"

"Annabeth. Stop. I'm not going to break up with you. No way in Hades will I ever break up with you, I love you too much." Annabeth pulled back, still in his arms and searched his eyes for an answer.

"Then what were you talking about…" She trailed off as Percy got down on one knee.

"Annabeth, I would NEVER break up with you. I don't even know why you would consider that. No, I want to MARRY YOU. So Annabeth, will you marry me?" Percy searched his girlfriend's surprised face. "Annabeth?"

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**Link to the ring is on my profile. This chapter is quite short to the next one that I'll post. I've almost got that one finished and I've just been writing and writing. 20 reviews and I shall update. Even better.. 30+? I'm hopeful. Oh, umm, Gallifrey Dweller guessed right about the song. It would've been closer if I ****didm't write like I explained earlier. Umm, to my reviewers...**

**aslongaswe'retogether123: Thank you! Never knew I was that great! That's ok, I babble a lot too. :D**

**SilSha (Silver Shadow): Umm, you do realise Hades hates Percy, right? XD Making a joke here so don't take offence at that. Honestly, earlier today I was cartwheeling which I haven't done in two years. I think I got to 4 or 5 before I somehow face planted/tumbled/rolled. I couldn't stop laughing cause I didn't know how I did it. I wish someone had taped it...don't die. I need my loyal readers for advice...:P**

**elliefs: Thank you! I love the thing I based my name off! XP**

**I just realised something. Did I make a promise for more fluff after this chapter? I think I did. Whoops. I'll have to add more fluff then. Oh well. This story needs some more anyway. Might change that next chapter a bit. It'll still be long though so...if you FAVE, FOLLOW, REVIEW you get a chapter that fluffy and has a strange surprise...**


	13. Here we go again

**Ok, I didn't get as many reviews as I wanted but I figured I'd better update just because. Anyway, reviews make me update faster more so since I have school now. Rick owns the stuff he came up with! :) Warning: fluff alert.**

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Percy grinned as Annabeth didn't hesitate in pulling him up and kissing him in front of the whole camp. He was actually taken a bit by surprise that he almost dropped the ring that was in his hand. She pulled away leaving Percy breathless. Her smile made him feel all warm and fuzzy.

"Yes! Why the Hades would I say anything else?" She cried. Percy felt heat suffuse his cheeks.

"I-" She cut him off with another kiss. The sound of the camp cheering louder than when they had gotten together all those years ago was muted in their ears as their rapid heartbeats took over instead.

"Get a room!" Someone yelled. Probably Clarisse but they didn't notice. Percy pulled away first this time and grabbed Annabeth's left hand in a fevered rush like he wanted to just get the ring on her finger as quick as possible.

"You know, I love you so much that I got Tyson to make this and he added a few extra touches so I don't have to worry so much when you're fighting monsters." He mumbled, keeping eye contact with her the whole time he slid the ring onto her finger. "Tap the pearls." Percy took a step back as Annabeth tapped the pearls on her ring. Again, the mirror-shield spun out seamlessly.

"Oh." Annabeth said quietly. She put away the shield and tackled Percy in a hug, making him take a step back. He came very close to falling over though. Someone started herding people off because the crowd receded. Piper and Jason walked up to Percy and Annabeth who were talking quietly. Percy smiled at Piper and mouthed a 'thank you'.

"Told you." Piper teased back. Percy rolled his eyes and pulled Annabeth closer to him.

"Did Piper tell you or did she leave you out of the secret?" Percy asked. Jason frowned at his girlfriend.

"She didn't tell though I would've _loved_ to know."

"You didn't ask." Jason mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'smart ass' in Latin. Percy laughed.

"I don't mean to be rude but go away. I want some time with my _fiancé._" Percy said, teasingly. Annabeth poked her tongue out at him.

"Immature much?" Leo said randomly.

"Where the Hades did you come from?" Piper asked. Leo grinned and pointed to the Forges.

"The Forge knows everything." He stage-whispered mysteriously.

"Don't you mean _Forges_?" Annabeth corrected him.

"Dude, get your _fiancé _under control."

"You haven't seen her mad yet." Percy stated knowingly. Piper punched Leo and led Jason away.

"Come on Repair Boy! If you don't stop bothering them I'll put make-up on you!"

"Ooh! Nasty threat!"

"Don't get on the bad side of the Aphrodite's Leo! They have make-up that never comes off!" The Stolls warned loudly from where they were 100 metres away. Leo paled and ran to the Forges making Piper laugh.

"See you two later!" She called to Percy and Annabeth. Percy grinned and turned to Annabeth.

"So, what do you want to do?"

"Maybe...go for a swim?" She asked mysteriously. Percy threw her over his shoulder and ran down to the beach before throwing her in. She squealed when she hit the water.

"PERCY JACKSON!"

"Yes?"

"You are going down!"

"In history!"

"Ah, no."

"Too bad. You're messing with a son of Poseidon in his home territory."

"Oh, this is your territory?"

"Maybe." He laughed as she ran at him and dragged him in, shoving his head under water. Percy, of course, stayed dry. He laughed at his girlfriend who was soaking wet while he was completely dry. She tackled him and they both went under to have Percy make an air bubble. They sat at the bottom of the lake in each others arms. Annabeth turned to Percy and sat on his lap, wrapping her legs around his hips. She tilted her head to one side slightly.

"So, what do you want to do?" Percy shrugged and trailed kisses down her neck slowly. When he got to her collar bone he bit lightly, giving her a hickey. "Percy Jackson, you will be the death of me." She whispered.

"Mmhmm."

"And-ooh! That's ticklish!" Percy started kissing her even lighter, just behind her ear.

"I-love-you." He mumbled in between kisses.

"I love you too." Her voice was a little hoarse and she had trouble thinking straight. He moved to her mouth and kissed her again. It became a bit fevered, like they couldn't get enough of each other even though they had only been apart for a day. It was too long for Annabeth and the same for Percy. Life without each other was numb and boring, colourless like everything good had been taken away. Annabeth shivered as Percy slid his warm hands under her shirt, resting them lightly on her waist. Her hands became messed up in his hair without her permission as the kiss continued on to making out.

"Percy...curfew..."

"Mmhmm."

"The- the Harpies...?"

"I don't care."

"I do."

"I wanna hear you say that in a few months."

"So do I but-ugh, Percy. Stop for a second. I can't think straight."

"Always knew I had that effect on you." Annabeth gave a very un-lady like snort.

"Maybe not always. Percy, look at me. I'm serious. We really should leave." Percy sighed.

"Fine. I do understand where you're coming from though." He said. Annabeth smiled.

"Thank you."

"Come on." he took her hand and willed the currents to help them up through the water. When they both had two feet planted on the beach, Percy dried Annabeth off. He wrapped an arm around her waist as they walked up to his cabin slowly.

"Oh, you might want to wear that ring more often in case of monsters but I do have a simple band there if you want to save the one I gave you for the actual wedding."

"That's ok Percy. I wonder what Chiron wants." She pointed to the centaur who was standing on the porch of the Big House.

"Now, I know it's a happy time for you but tomorrow I want you to travel to a school. You are both old enough now to pass for teachers and we always need more out there to collect new campers. The satyrs still haven't recovered from both wars and there are a lot of demigods out there. Poseidon has see fit to buy an apartment not far from the school."

"But-"

"I know Percy. The school is in New York _but _your mother's apartment is an hour and a half away from the school. The apartment Poseidon has bought for your use is just 15 minutes."

"Chiron! What about lessons? Or-"

"I know my dear but I think it would be best if you two took some time away from the demigod world to recover more. Live like a normal person for a bit. After maybe a month you may come back."

"Chiron-"

"No Annabeth. I believe this is what is best for you and Percy. Leave for a little bit. Go and enjoy yourselves."

"Fine but only for a month. Then we're coming back." Chiron smiled at Annabeth.

"Of course My Dear."

"Thank you."

"Now, go back to your cabins. I wouldn't want the Harpies to eat my favourite students." They both blushed and said their good-byes before heading off to the Poseidon cabin. They got ready for bed and crawled in next to each other. Percy wrapped an arm around Annabeth's waist.

"I love you." He whispered into her hair. She gave a soft laugh.

"I think I've heard that before and yes, I love you too."

* * *

The bell rang at a school in New York, telling the teens it was time for class. Melanie sighed as she followed her 'fellow' classmates into their class room for Ancient History. She tapped her pencil as she waited for the teacher to open the door and start taking roll. Right as the tardy bell went, a tall, tanned blonde female teacher stepped into the room wearing jeans, a white blouse and some comfortable shoes. Her hair was up in a messy bun and bits of fly-away hair framed her face which did not have any make-up. Her un-usually grey eyes scanned the room, taking everything in before focusing sharply on the class, making them fidget.

"I am Miss Chase and I'll be your history teacher for maybe a month. After that…we'll see." She picked up some papers off the teacher desk and shuffled through them, leaning against the wooden desk.

"Branden Hetherington?"

"Here." A tall, lanky boy at the back raised his hand. Ms. Chase nodded to him and continued to rattle off names before coming to the long tormentor of Melanie, Joshua Right. Despite his last name, everything he did was WRONG.

"Here, Miss-?"

"Chase." The blonde teacher said sharply. "You would do well to remember my name Mr. Right." Joshua grinned. Miss Chase shot him a glare fit to kill and Melanie had to stifle her laughter.

"Melanie Stewart?" Melanie raised her hand.

"Here, Ms. Chase." The teacher flashed her a small smile and continued to the end of the list.

"Now," She placed the papers on the desk she was leaning on and faced the class easily. "as it's your first day you can ask me a few questions before we start our work." Joshua raised his hand, making Ms. Chase raise an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

"Are you single?"

"Actually I'm engaged." She held up her hand and showed the class the ring. It had a fair sized diamond in the middle, flanked by six small pearls. Melanie liked it. It was simple yet elegant and it seemed to fit the teacher's persona.

"Who are you marrying?" Joshua pushed on, not missing a beat.

"Your new Gym teacher."

"Who's that?"

"Mr. Jackson."

"That doesn't explain much."

"Mr. Right, that is not your business. If you checked your timetable for once you might notice that you have Gym later today thus, giving you an unavoidable introduction to my fiancé. Any other questions that aren't from our friend, Mr. Right over there?" Melanie got a weird feeling for a second like she could see two things about Ms. Chase. One was the teacher's wise aura that was formidable but the other…it wasn't so big, a bit more wild yet small. Something that resembled the ocean but still had part of the teacher's aura. Melanie froze while other students asked the teacher questions. 'She's pregnant' the thought jolted Melanie out of her weird experience and without her permission, her hand rose into the air.

"Yes, Ms. Stewart?"

"Are you pregnant?" She blurted without thinking. The question seemed to shock Ms. Chase before a mask of no emotion took place on her face.

"What would make you think that?"

"Just a feeling I had." Ms. Chase raised an eyebrow.

"If you don't mind, please come and see me at lunch if that's alright. Now isn't the time to ask you to expand on your 'feeling'." The way the teacher said the sentence was carefully measured and calculated like she was planning anything Melanie might try or say next. It didn't critique her or make fun of her. It was cool calm and collected.

"Okay," Ms. Chase stood up and turned to the board. "this year we are studying Ancient Greece. I want you to answer these questions." Ms. Chase then proceeded to write 5 questions up on the board.

Who was the mother Earth?Hercules was the son of who?Who was one of the eldest gods?Two monsters; name them.Athena was the patron of which town/city?

She had finished writing the questions up with some slight difficulty when there was a knock on the door and a man with black hair and green eyes poked his head in. Ms. Chase turned to him with a genuine smile.

"Yes Percy?" He flashed her a charming grin.

"You forgot your lunch and…why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

"Oh so now he wanted me to wake him up? I distinctly remember you saying this morning 'go away and leave me be'." The man frowned.

"How come I don't remember that?"

"You were half asleep."

"Oh. Anyway, here's your lunch. Have fun teaching in a classroom. They let me teach in the Gym." He said matter-of-factly.

"Your an idiot. Go on, you probably have a class now."

"Too right 'Beth-"

"Watch it."

"-and Thalia's coming this afternoon. Her, ahh, guardian gave her leave."

"Great! Now go away. Your distracting me."

"Nah, you know you love me."

"And right now your annoying me so go."

"Yes ma'am!" He saluted slightly with a cheeky grin. "You'd better behave of this lady or she'll have your head." He sounded so serious Melanie wasn't sure whether to believe him until Ms. Chase started laughing.

"Good BYE Percy. Your stirring up the class."

"Hey! It's what I do best!"

"Go away Jackson!"

"Fine, fine, I'm going Annabeth. See you later!" With that he walked out the door, leaving Ms. Chase shaking her head.

"And that was your new irritating Gym teacher. I swear I will kill him." She muttered the last bit. Melanie wasn't sure what she meant by it. She got the distinct feeling it had nothing to do with his interrupting the class. Ms. Chase raised an eyebrow.

"Come on. Questions! Now!" No one argued.

* * *

***Huff* Hope you're happy my lovely readers. Do I still need to write MORE fluff or am I going alright with the fluff amount now? Shout outs toooooooooo:**

**Girl Hayley: Thanks! That's sad you can't write on FF during class. It annoys me too...**

**patzhang05: Ok. How was THAT for fluff? Do I need to write some more? I'm happy to comply if you think my story needs it...**

**Guest: Sorry for the suspense. I thought it was obvious that Annabeth would say YES! I'm not THAT mean...**

**Guest: I know. Cliffies suck but my last few chapters seemed to be ending as if I was wrapping up the story. Figured I'd better throw a cliff hanger in there.**

**aesir21: Are you fo' shizzle? I thought that speech was crap. Oh well, I must write better than I thought...BLAME THE FINGERS! They write by themselves...**

**HolleyS: Don't die on me! I need my supporters! **

**grod44: Yeah, a cliffy, THE cliffy. The worst thing an author could do. That and not update. If you mean ahem, sex then yes. You are correct.**

**Ok, I feel weird now. Awkward answer for that last shout out/ answer thing. Anyway, 20 reviews and I shall update with more fluff if need be...**


	14. ANKIDDING! Read the new chapter

**Okay, here's the deal, school is back in and it's the two major weeks for assignments and tests right now. All of my stories will probably be going on and off a temporary hiatus because of school. I have been writing in between and now that I have my own computer I just write new chapters in notes so I decided to finish this one because of all the support. I won't be asking for reviews anymore thought I'm always happy to get some, also, sorry if my chapters are a bit rushed. I got an influx of ideas a few weeks ago and I was trying to get them all out. RICK OWNS PJO! Not Elmo, unfortunately...**

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At lunch there was talk of a new Gym teacher that sounded suspiciously like 's fiancé. The Jocks were asking whether he could throw a football, the girly-girls were squealing about his 'hotness', nerds were no-go on the subject because they hated Gym and the rest were all asking different questions. Melanie wasn't sure but she thought she heard some goth asking someone whether Mr. Jackson was goth and the person responded with 'D'you reckon he's punk?'. Questions flew around the room and Melanie decided to leave. There was a group around her History class that was asking about Mr. Jackson and Ms. Chase. Joshua was probably scheming ways to get into Ms. Chase's pants. Melanie doubted that would happen. After all, the new teacher seemed pretty happy with her current partner. Like MORE than happy. The halls were silent as Melanie's sneakers squeaked on the floor. A growl sounded and a shiver made it's way down her spine. She ran to the closest open door which happened to be the Gym. **(A/N: Oi! I'm Aussie. You should seriously know that by now…)** She ran into someone and almost fell down except a strong hand grabbed her arm.

"Ms. Stewart, I thought you were old enough to know not to run into people." Mr. Jackson teased easily. He wore jeans and a button-up white shirt that long-sleeves he had rolled up. He was either too lazy to tuck it in or he had decided it looked better which it did, on him. She looked at his shoes. He was wearing flip-flops.

"Uh, shouldn't you be wearing proper shoes?" He looked down at his feet too.

"Probably. I don't care though."

"That's not very professional." He shrugged.

"Who said I was professional? For all you know I might make you all do the hokey-pokey in Gym then let you sit around bored out of your minds." He sounded so serious she wasn't sure if her was joking. Then he laughed. "I am joking, your eyes aren't that hard to read. Don't take me serious all the time, okay? Anyway, why did you come in here?"

"Umm, I heard a noise."

"What type of noise? Was it like a growl or something?" Melanie nodded. Mr. Jackson looked surprised. He muttered something under his breath. He started to walk out but stopped and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Wait here. Don't do anything." He left and Melanie wondered why he guessed so correctly. She heard a shout then laughing. She poked her head out of the door, against the teacher's orders and saw a huge dog licking him. Now, the words huge or big didn't do the dog any justice. It was bigger than a car, more like a small truck. It's claws were sharp and long, fangs huge and ruby red eyes that seemed to glare at you. Despite all of this the hulking dog seemed, dare she say it, friendly. It kept licking Mr. Jackson and whining. The dog licked his head and his hair stuck straight up. He laughed again.

"Ow, yeah, I love you too girl. You shouldn't be here." He scratched behind 'her' ear as she whined again.

"Percy?" A female voice called. Annabeth appeared frowning.

"Why is Mrs. O'Leary here?" The black haired teacher shrugged.

"I don't know. Hey, do you have any lessons?"

"No."

"Could you take her back home then? She's not leaving like usual. And I've got your history class this afternoon." Ms. Chase joined him in petting the monstrous dog.

"Sure Percy. Blackjack won't mind giving me a ride?"

"Nah, he's good. I'll just have to make sure he doesn't get into the donuts at home." Ms. Chase laughed and Melanie got a dizzy feeling. She blinked and everything looked like it had been split in half, as if she was seeing both underwater and above at the same time. She could see through her normal, colourful vision but the other half was tinted greyscale and darker colours were more prominent. Melanie felt her body freeze in shock as she took in the image. Mr. Jackson had a strong, sea-green aura that had minor colours swirling and changing. Ms. Chase had a silver-grey one that was almost a bit stronger than Mr. Jackson's then she realised why. The history teacher's womb had two colours, the silver-grey and that unpredictable sea-green. She took a step back and her vision went back to normal. Unfortunately her shoes squeaked and the two turned towards the noise but the door was now closed. Melanie tried to slow her breathing as she heard the two teachers talking quietly. She sat down quickly just before Mr. Jackson slipped back into the room, smiling. He sat down in front of her.

"So, I'm assuming you didn't stay where I told you to?"

"No." Melanie's voice was small. Mr. Jackson didn't look surprised.

"ósous eínai diaforetikoí vrei i̱sychía prókli̱si̱."

"Those who are different find stillness a challenge?" She whispered.

"So you understood. Ms. Stewart, you aren't different in a bad way and you have yet to realise that but, in the meantime, try to concentrate your studies on Gym and what you learn in History. It'll help you future greatly."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Mr. Jackson shrugged.

"Fate chooses it's own way. And it makes some people a bit similar to others. I'm like you. I'm different. What are you diagnosed with?"

"ADHD and dyslexia but what does that have to do with anything?"

"There you have it. I'm dyslexic too and I have ADHD though I think I've got the worse case. I 'spose you saw my dog?"

"Yeah, I never knew you could get dogs that big though."

"How big would you say Mrs. O'Leary was?"

"Large car, small truck." Mr. Jackson nodded.

"Correct."

"But how is that the correct answer? The question you asked was about what I SAW. It had nothing to do with a right or wrong answer."

"Again, correct. Why I said that was because you were right despite whether that was my question or not. Now, I do believe the bell will go soon and I think I have you for Gym so get going." Mr. Jackson stood up and held out a hand to Melanie. She took it cautiously and he pulled her up easily. She felt that he possessed more strength that what he appeared to have. As she walked out the room Mr. Jackson watched her go carefully. She felt un-easy about his gaze as it was just as piercing as his fiancé's. As soon as she closed the door to the Gym she sprinted to her locker, trying to forget the experience she just had.

* * *

Gym was rough. Mr. Jackson had them jog five laps then start a game of dodgeball. He sorted the groups fairly and had an even amount of jocks, nerds, the girly-girls and the oddballs. Melanie was one of those oddballs. Joshua was on the opposite team to her which made her worry. What if he tried to pin-point her and only her? Mr. Jackson smiled around at everyone warmly. It reassured her. He wouldn't let anything bad happen? Right?

"Line up!" Mr. Jackson called. Everyone did, keeping their sights on a ball they thought they could get. Melanie just wanted a to get a ball then retreat and stay out of the way. A shrill whistle pierced the air and everyone rushed forward, some staying back to take their chances. Just as Melanie got to a ball and snatched it up did she realise that the whistle had been natural yet just as loud as an artificial one. This thought almost knocked Melanie out of the game had she not realised at the last second that a ball was hurtling towards her. It ricocheted off her own dodge-ball that was held firmly in her hands. Girls squealed and Mr. Jackson called many people out. Melanie watched as Joshua took out many of her team mates. Melanie responded in force. She didn't know what came over her but everything seemed to slow down a small fraction to her, helping her dodge and throw accordingly. It eventually narrowed down to her against her long time tormenter known as Joshua Right.

"You couldn't hit a bug on a wall!" She taunted. Joshua snarled. He pegged the ball hard. It JUST missed her. Just as fast she threw her dodge-ball at him. Thing was, it actually HIT him. Right in the stomach. Melanie started laughing as she watched the jock hunch over, wheezing slightly. She didn't notice Joshua running at her as she laughed harder. It wasn't until he was two feet away that she noticed him and then he wasn't there. Mr. Jackson had interfered, grabbing the younger boy's arm, twisting it, then pushing him to the ground. Joshua had his face being squashed into the ground and Mr. Jackson's knee in his back.

"Never hit a girl." The older man growled. The teacher got up, clenching his left hand and wincing slightly. Joshua rose slowly and glared at the teacher before leaving. "Detention tomorrow Mr. Right." The black-haired man called.

"Whatever." was the muffled reply.

"Class dismissed." Mr. Jackson mumbled. His voice was restraining something and his left hand kept clenching. Most of the class left and a few stragglers walked out slowly. Mr. Jackson leaned against the wall with one hand, still clenching the other. His breath was a little ragged as he glared at the last few students.

"Leave." He said fiercely. Melanie still stayed and so did a boy called Branden Hetherington. Sweat started to form on Mr. Jackson's forehead. He looked like he wanted to punch a wall and pass out. Melanie hope he did neither but one thing she did know was that her Gym teacher wasn't looking so good. His tanned-ish skin was turning paler by the minute and Melanie was sure that she had better do something soon, namely, getting the teacher's fiancé.

"Branden," She snapped. The lanky boy turned to her. "get Ms. Chase. Tell her to come to the Gym." The boy paled.

"But…Ms. Chase scares me." He said quietly. Mr. Jackson gave a weak, strained laugh that made their heads turn to him.

"She-she won't hurt you. Damn this arm." Mr. Jackson groaned and slid down the wall, leaning against it. He hunched over and Melanie knelt down to help him…if she could.

"Branden." She glared at the boy who scarpered quickly. She heard him yelling 'MS. CHASE!' at the top of his lungs. Melanie turned back to her teacher who had no colour left on his face and he was sweating profusely while groaning painfully.

"Mr. Jackson? Are you alright?" She questioned gently. He didn't look up, just kept his head down, knees up to his chest and holding his left arm painfully. There wasn't any blood, just scars that Melanie couldn't read. A little bit of foam appeared at the corners of his mouth as he started to shake violently.

"Oh Gods. Percy?!" A female voice called out. It wasn't Ms. Chase. Instead a girl about 14-15 stood in black ripped jeans, a shirt that read 'Death To Barbie' and, true to the slogan, had a barbie with an arrow through its head. Her leather jacket was dark black and the front of it, dotted with punk bands. She swore something Melanie didn't understand and rushed over.

"Percy, C-Mr. Brunner knew your condition! Why the hell did you agree?" The punk-goth girl punched him in the shoulder and he winced.

"Thals. Not helping." He managed to get past gritted teeth. She growled in frustration.

"I should zap you right now for being so stupid." He gave a weak chuckle.

"Oh you're mean, cuz." Ahh, they were cousins.

"Meaner than Death Breath?"

"Damn right. Stupid kid of…" Mr. Jackson winced, trailing off. 'Thalia' took something out of her pocket. It looked like a brownie. Kind of. She shoved it in his mouth and he choked, coughing and spluttering.

"Pinecone Face…" He grimaced. She shrugged.

"It was chocolate flavoured."

"Tasted like minotaur dung. Where- had that been?" He coughed, wincing a little. Thalia frowned uneasily.

"It should be fine. It's not like it has a used-by date."

"W-with my luck…that one probably did." Mr. Jackson started shivering and Thalia knelt next to him, her face etched with worry.

"Only you would try to joke at a time like this."

"Oh, and Repair Boy wouldn't? Gods Thalia, this is not helping!" The girl's face softened a fraction and her blue eyes didn't seem so icy.

"Hang in there Percy. That kid went to get Annabeth."

"And he won't find her." He managed to get out with great difficulty.

"She went to camp, didn't she?" Percy nodded.

"Excuse me? What the hell is going on?" Melanie interrupted rudely. 'Thalia' turned to her, blue eyes glaring.

"My name's Thalia, kid. As for what's going on, Percy is she what I think she is?"

"Almost definitely." He groaned again, gripping his arm harder.

"You're only 15! You can't talk to me like that!" Melanie protested, crossing her arms fiercely. Thalia regarded her calmly.

"I would say Demeter but she doesn't look much like her. No green eyes."

"You still can't talk to me like that! I am older!" Melanie exclaimed arrogantly. Thalia shot her a glare that made her tremble.

"Melanie? Think back to Ms. Chase's lessons. Think Artemis." Percy grumbled. Whatever pain was affecting him had seemed to have lessened. He let his legs sit straight out in front of him instead of up to his chest. Mr. Jackson was still pale though and Thalia still seemed worried in her own weird way as she kneeled next to him.

"Thalia?!" A voice almost yelled. The black haired girl turned to see Annabeth standing there, hair flying around her face as it hung loose about her shoulders. The daughter of Zeus grinned at her long-time friend.

"Annie! Where the Hades were you?" She sent an accusing glare at the history teacher who looked down bashfully.

"I had to take Mrs. O'Leary to camp."

"I'm going to kill Nico." Thalia mumbled. "I'll bet it was his idea of a 'prank'." Annabeth smiled.

"He was probably trying to get back at Percy from last time."

"When Kelp Head and the Hermes cabin painted Nico's yellow? Oh Gods I wished I had seen that!" Melanie watched, confused as the two women talked. Her attention though, went back to Mr. Jackson as he groaned again and slumped even more.

"The world is spinning." He mumbled. Ms. Chase paled and knelt next to him, her face etched with worry.

"Percy? Was it worse this time?"

"Oh, so now she listens?" He responded sarcastically...then groaned. Annabeth snapped her fingers at Thalia.

"Water bottle; now." The 15 year old girl passed over a silver flask which Melanie didn't know she had before. Annabeth poured it on Percy's arm where the scars were. Obviously it was absorbed straight into his skin. Melanie let out a squeak.

"What-? How-?" Her face was completely shocked as she backed away from the three.

"Ever heard of the Greek gods, kid? Yeah, well we're their children." Thalia said dryly. Annabeth glared at her friend.

"Haven't you ever heard of breaking it to her _gently_?"

"Nope."

"She's even crazier than I am." Mr. Jackson mumbled. Thalia gave him a look.

"Sorry Seaweed Brain, you already filled in that category." He rolled his eyes.

"Thanks for that Pinecone Face." Annabeth helped him up and wrapped an arm around his waist just incase he wasn't quite stable on his feet. "Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon at your service." He held out a hand to Melanie which she didn't take, just back away further.

"No, no. Poseidon isn't real! They're just myths!"

"Oh and you call this a myth?" Thalia tapped her bracelet. Naturally it spiralled out, in shield form, Medusa's head glaring at the girl. Melanie screamed and ran.

"Well, now you've done it!" Percy exclaimed, glaring at Thalia who shrugged.

"She had it coming, mouthing off to me." Percy raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, and I haven't mouthed off to you worse?"

"You're my cousin so that's different." Annabeth rolled her eyes at the oncoming fight.

"Come on. We'd better get her before she goes running to someone." The three then left the Gym.

* * *

**Not my best chapter. Oh well. It's pretty long I suppose. I am so sorry for making you all wait! Good news though, one more week of school before our two week Easter holiday! I'll try to write some more chapters over the holidays so I can update them gradually and not keep you waiting for so long. Unfortunately our teachers have decided to make sure we have enough homework, etc to keep us busy. With the teacher thing, they're about 25-27? I know, really, _really_, long after Tartarus. Bear with me peeps and yeah, thanks for all the support! It keeps me sane...to an extent...XD**


	15. Homely Interrogation

**I am so sorry I haven't updated! Thank you to peanutbuttre7 for PM-ing me to remind me to update ATGW. The guilty part is that I've updated some of my other stories. Anyway, enough of my talk. You've waited long enough and just a reminder that the brilliant Rick Riordan owns all things Percy Jackson. At least he guarantees how long you have to wait. Enjoy it! :)**

* * *

Melanie bolted. The huge dog. Mr. Jackson. That punk-goth girl. _Ms. Chase_. Melanie's breath was getting heavier. It was ragged now and her head felt light as she turned down some alley way. She wasn't sure where her feet were taking her just so long as she was away from _them_. The new teachers seemed to be the cause of her troubles. Especially with these new weird, maternal discovering powers. She shook her head and slowed to a walk. It wouldn't do to pass out. She needed somewhere calm to think. Away from all this, all these new things. Melanie thought even more as she walked, her breath easing. She decided that she wouldn't go to school for the rest of the week. Maybe they would be gone by then? Or maybe she would wake up tomorrow and find out all of this was a dream? She pinched herself. It hurt. Then she stopped. Don't some people actually feel and touch in their dreams? No, correction. Today was a nightmare. A confusing, irritating, worrying maze that twisted and turned and Melanie could do nothing to make sense of it. She couldn't seem to slow it either so she started walking again.

A light rain started to mist and she pulled her jacket tighter around her and her shoulders gave an involuntary shiver. As her brain processed her thoughts, she came back to the scars on Mr. Jackson's arm. She shivered again. It felt like someone had taken a blade and scraped it down her spine, the way the shiver travelled so grindingly _slowly_. Melanie hadn't been able to read the words that looked like they'd been cut into his arm and she felt that they had affected him somehow. Not just the physical pain, some sort of emotional pain. Rain slid down the collar of her shirt, freezing her even more. The numbness had started an hour ago but now it was worse. She couldn't feel her feet or hands and now it seemed to be spreading. She imagined her nose would be very red and the thought made Melanie sniffed. She didn't want to go back to the orphanage either. If she went back she would be saddled with the little kids who had just gotten back from kindergarten and had already had their nap. And Old Nellie would give the little ones to Melanie because she was the oldest there and because the girl had a way with them.

They still drained all of Melanie's energy and the other reason why the old lady gave her the task was so she could have her nanny nap as one of the little boys called it. Melanie was tired _now_. Her half numb-half asleep legs stumbled over something. Her eye sight went blurry from the exhaustion. She really wasn't in the best shape she thought sluggishly. Her legs felt wobbly and her head swam. Melanie's throat was parched and her head still felt light. Her knees gave up. She fell and she waited for the impact but it never came. The last thing she remembered was seeing green that swirled and made her feel even dizzier.

* * *

"-got to get her to camp!"

"No. She hasn't been attacked. Let her keep attending school. Remember, it's a luxury we never really got." Someone sighed at the words.

"Annabeth, she needs to come to camp! She knows too much already and we don't want another friendly introduction to our world like what happened to me!"

"I know that Percy! Argh! You're so-"

"Here we go again," Someone muttered. Melanie could practically_ hear_ the person's eyes rolling. She shifted uncomfortably at the loud noise the two arguing people were making. The person who had muttered sighed again. There was a loud _smack! _Melanie flinched instinctively. She cracked one eyes open and saw a blurry image of a tall figure holding their arm and seeming to look at a much shorter person with a black blob for a head. It must have been the person's hair, Melanie realised. The third and last figure was shorter than the tall one holding their arm but taller than the short one with the black-blob hair. Melanie blinked some more and her vision became a little less fuzzy though she still couldn't see much. Or very well at all. The short, black-blob-haired one knelt next to Melanie, wherever she was a held something to the now-concious girl's lips. Melanie took a sip and warmth spread through her body. Every minor thing that had made her happy came flooding back to her and she savoured the taste.

"Try and sit up," the figure said. Black-blob hair helped the girl sit up and exchanged concerned looks with the blonde haired one as Melanie swayed a bit. Melanie's vision was starting to clear and she could make out two icy blue eyes that made her feel like reeling back some.

"Woah! Steady," Blue eyes said. Judging by the voice Melanie's helper was female. It also helped that her sight was clearing even more so she could make out a fuzzy image of the blue eyed girl's face. Melanie noted the freckles on the pale skin, the heavy, black eyeliner that made those disturbingly cold looking blue eyes stand out even more, the choppy black hair that look like it had been cut with a knife, or safety scissors. Whichever. Melanie blinked and her vision came back completely. What she saw made her start back in shock. The blue eyed girl was the one who she had met earlier. Thalia, Mr Jackson had called her.

"W-why?" Melanie tried to croak out. It was more like a scratchy sound though.

"Kelp Head," Thalia clicked her fingers, "get some water. Now!" Said person glared at his cousin.

"Gods Pinecone Face, no need to get pushy," He grumbled but walked off to fetch the drink. Thalia pushed Melanie back onto the couch with a "stay here" then walked over to Annabeth where they conversed in muted tones that Melanie couldn't make out. A few minutes later Mr. Jackson was back with the glass of water and he handed it to Melanie who took a tentative sip. Who knows? The thing could have been poisoned for God only knows why. She didn't feel funny or anything to Melanie took a big mouthful and swallowed before clearing her throat a few times to try and ease the dryness.

"How did I get here?" Her voice was still shoddy and they could barely make out the words.

"Drink some more then we'll answer your questions," Mr Jackson said, pointing to her cup. She shrugged and drank some more until she felt her voice would have recovered enough.

"So," Miss Chase pulled up a chair, "you know about Percy's dog-"

"It's very big," Melanie put in flatly. "There's no way you just bought it from the local pet store. You already said something about Greek gods so don't try to hid anything from me." The history teacher's eyes narrowed.

"Maybe not. I'd still rather not go with Percy's suggestion. I don't want to overload you with new things too quickly."

"Ugh," Mr Jackson gave a growl of frustration,"Annabeth. We've been over this! She's seen Mrs. O'Leary, she understands Greek very well and she knows we aren't actually teachers. Not to mention, _she should have been claimed by now_!" Miss Chase huffed and crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the tall man.

"You're so stubborn Seaweed Brain! We-"

"Oh, and you aren't?"

"Don't start Jackson," She growled. "I-"

"Will you two shut up?!" Thalia cried, throwing her hands in the air. "You've been going at it ever since we found her! We'll wait a day then take her to camp. End of story!" Her voice cracked like a whip and Melanie flinched at the harsh words. The arguing couple, on the other hand, were seemingly unperturbed. They fixed the blue eyed punk girl with calm gazes and muttered their apologies.

"Thank you," Thalia said with some exasperation. Maybe not some. Try a lot. "Okay," Pinching the bridge of her nose, Thalia turned to Melanie, "I'm gonna do this my way which means if you try to run while I'm explaining I will trip you up with an arrow." Melanie laughed.

"No one can be that good!" She drawled. Thalia raised a slim brow.

"Oh, and would you like to see? I'm a Huntress kid. Huntress serve the Lady Artemis and yes, we are that damn good. Now shut up Moany and I'll explain," She demanded. She looked every bit scary and Melanie had no wish to unleash her, probably, short temper.

"Okay," The girl's voice was small.

"Thank you," Thalia repeated. She glared at the other two, black and blonde who had kept their peace through the confrontation. "If I hear a _peep _from either of you, I will stick an arrow through you. Okay? Okay. Alright Moany, you've heard about the Greek gods? Good. I don't have to do as much explaining. Sometimes these gods would come down to earth and hook up with mortals. The outcome was demigods. For your information I'm a demigod and my father is Zeus. Percy's dad is Poseidon and Annabeth's mother is Athena." Melanie started to ask a question.

"Don't they-" Thalia waved it aside.

"Yes, yes, they hate each other. Kelp Head and Annie are an exception. Now, continuing," Thalia pressed on."So demigods have a pretty much crap life. We taught how to wield weapons then fight monsters and try to die. Happy, I know. You'll come to appreciate the upliftingness of the whole shoddy deal," Percy coughed lightly.

"Uh, Thals. Upliftingness isn't a word," He smirked as she glared at him.

"Like you're any better. You've been spending too much time around Annie and what the Hades did I say about talking?" She demanded.

"Sorry," He his hands up in a peace gesture.

"Thought so," Thalia glanced at a clock the stood abruptly. "I've got to go. Lady Artemis is expecting me," She went to the door then stopped, one hand on the knob and glanced at Percy and Annabeth. "Oh, and please, try to avoid killing each other or being killed. I don't want to have to resurrect my kelp-headed cousin just so I could zap him with lightning," Then she left. Percy was gaping out the door at her retreating figure.

"Remind me to flood the Zeus cabin when we get back to camp," He muttered, shutting the door. He turned around, glancing at the watch on his wrist. "Probably should get some sleep," He decided. "There's a spare room just down from Annabeth's and mine. You can crash there for night. Tomorrow we'll probably go to camp," Those were the words to which Annabeth nodded wearily.

"Come on Melanie, you probably don't want to sleep on the couch," Annabeth said, turning in the direction of the hall. Melanie stood and got a dizzy feeling as she swayed. It reminded her of earlier when she had eavesdropped on the two not-so-teachers. Then she blurted words that she wanted to take back as quick as possible.

"You're pregnant."

Miss Chase stopped her slow paces.

"Excuse me?" She asked quietly. Melanie glanced at Mr. Jackson. He had gone very, very pale.

"Um, you-you heard what I said. I can just…_feel _it I suppose," She tried to explain. Miss Chase turned slowly and looked at Melanie with an expression the girl couldn't read.

"You can just _feel _it?" She questioned. It almost sounded like a threat, it was so soft-toned. Melanie nodded uncomfortably and swallowed. The teacher's gaze unnerved her. Annabeth glanced at Percy and noted that his face was close to chalk white and his expression was so worried she almost laughed but she knew what he was thinking.

"Your mom's going to kill me," He kind of _squeaked _it out and his voice was a few octaves higher than usual. Annabeth wanted so bad to laugh but she took pity on him.

"It'll be fine Percy," She said, rolling her eyes. "You know Poseidon wouldn't let her try anything." He blinked and walked over to her, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Percy…you're squishing...me," She managed to squeeze out. She felt him sigh then let his arms loosen. Percy then poked her gently in the stomach, looking at her with wide eyes.

"I'm still worried."

Annabeth rolled her eyes again. "I know that. Come on, you big child. I'm tired."

"Excuse me?" Melanie interjected, planting her hands on her hips. Percy heaved a huge, over-sized, dramatic sigh and rolled his eyes sky-ward. He placed a hand over his heart.

"Oh good gods. No! Not the dreaded _question_!" He ended in a whisper. He then proceeded to fake stagger steadily down the hall. Melanie gave Miss Chase a look. Said teacher shrugged. She gestured towards her melodramatic fiancé.

"He's like that on a good day," Annabeth answered. "Come on. He's probably heading towards the guest room. You can sleep there for tonight. Wait, you don't have any parents that might worry?" Melanie gave a non-committal twitch of her shoulders.

"No. I live at an orphanage. Old Nellie won't care. Or notice for that matter," Her voice was bored and flat and gave Miss Chase good reason to raise those slim, blonde eyebrows.

"Alright." The blonde lady lead the younger girl down the hall to where a door was open. Percy was lying on the ground, one arm over his eyes, sprawled randomly. The Miss Chase laughed. Mr Jackson lifted his arm a little off his head and cracked an eye open, glaring.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Gods Percy," Annabeth shook her head. "You look so funny…" She trailed off, a little spasm of laughter racking her body for a few seconds. Percy picked himself up off the ground, shaking his head.

"Whatever. Anyway, Mel. Can I call you that?"

"No."

"Alright Mel. So this is where you're sleeping. My bedroom is just next door if you need anything," Percy said giving her a smile before leaving with one arm wrapped around Annabeth's waist. Melanie looked around the room, forgetting her momentary irritation at Mr Jackson's nickname for her. The room was simple with white tones. It had the basics and a fluffy, blue bedspread added some colour. There was some spare pyjamas that were black for some reason and Melanie changed into them then pulled back the sheets which were light blue. Then she crawled in and snuggled into their warmth. The mattress was comfy and the sheets crisp. It felt like an actual home in comparison to the lumpy orphanage beds and their white, starched sheets that could've passed for planks of wood. With that thought, Melanie drifted off to sleep.

* * *

** Again. I am so sorry for the long wait! Thank peanutbuttre7 for getting my ass into gear. If I did shout outs this page would go on forever so to all those lovely, patient readers who have waited to long for this you are being pointed out for shout outs in one big lump. :P Goods news, we're writing a story in English; bad news, I'll probably be busy for the rest of the term so I most likely won't be able to update until the holidays. Don't worry, the next chapter will be pretty low-key.**

** Please bear in mind that I have NAPLAN testing next week, ponyclub this weekend, heaps of assessment that's due, studying to do and the further we get into winter the more horse competitions I'll be going to. I may have the time to read some things but I certainly won't have the time to write. At any rate I'll try but I'm sorry if I can't. Love ya's all! Review if you want to. :)**


	16. This just gets better and better

**Sorry it took so long. Explanation at the bottom. Remember, I write this in my spare time for fun, I don't get paid sadly so I can't do much for the updating speed.**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns PJO. Yeah, that guy who writes more often than I do.**

* * *

_Chapter 15_

_"You're pregnant."_

_Miss Chase stopped her slow paces._

_"Excuse me?" She asked quietly. Melanie glanced at Mr. Jackson. He had gone very, very pale._

_"Um, you-you heard what I said. I can just…feel it I suppose," She tried to explain. Miss Chase turned slowly and looked at Melanie with an expression the girl couldn't read._

_"You can just feel it?" She questioned. It almost sounded like a threat, it was so soft-toned. Melanie nodded uncomfortably and swallowed. The teacher's gaze unnerved her. Annabeth glanced at Percy and noted that his face was close to chalk white and his expression was so worried she almost laughed but she knew what he was thinking._

_"Your mom's going to kill me," He kind of squeaked it out and his voice was a few octaves higher than usual. Annabeth wanted so bad to laugh but she took pity on him._

_"It'll be fine Percy," She said, rolling her eyes. "You know Poseidon wouldn't let her try anything." He blinked and walked over to her, pulling her into a tight hug._

_"Percy…you're squishing...me," She managed to squeeze out. She felt him sigh then let his arms loosen. Percy then poked her gently in the stomach, looking at her with wide eyes._

_"I'm still worried."_

_Annabeth rolled her eyes again. "I know that. Come on, you big child. I'm tired."_

_"Excuse me?" Melanie interjected, planting her hands on her hips. Percy heaved a huge, over-sized, dramatic sigh and rolled his eyes sky-ward. He placed a hand over his heart._

_"Oh good gods. No! Not the dreaded question!" He ended in a whisper. He then proceeded to fake stagger steadily down the hall. Melanie gave Miss Chase a look. Said teacher shrugged. She gestured towards her melodramatic fiancé._

_"He's like that on a good day," Annabeth answered. "Come on. He's probably heading towards the guest room. You can sleep there for tonight. Wait, you don't have any parents that might worry?" Melanie gave a non-committal twitch of her shoulders._

_"No. I live at an orphanage. Old Nellie won't care. Or notice for that matter," Her voice was bored and flat and gave Miss Chase good reason to raise those slim, blonde eyebrows._

_"Alright." The blonde lady lead the younger girl down the hall to where a door was open. Percy was lying on the ground, one arm over his eyes, sprawled randomly. The Miss Chase laughed. Mr Jackson lifted his arm a little off his head and cracked an eye open, glaring._

_"What are you laughing at?"_

_"Gods Percy," Annabeth shook her head. "You look so funny…" She trailed off, a little spasm of laughter racking her body for a few seconds. Percy picked himself up off the ground, shaking his head._

_"Whatever. Anyway, Mel. Can I call you that?"_

_"No."_

_"Alright Mel. So this is where you're sleeping. My bedroom is just next door if you need anything," Percy said giving her a smile before leaving with one arm wrapped around Annabeth's waist. Melanie looked around the room, forgetting her momentary irritation at Mr Jackson's nickname for her. The room was simple with white tones. It had the basics and a fluffy, blue bedspread added some colour. There was some spare pyjamas that were black for some reason and Melanie changed into them then pulled back the sheets which were light blue. Then she crawled in and snuggled into their warmth. The mattress was comfy and the sheets crisp. It felt like an actual home in comparison to the lumpy orphanage beds and their white, starched sheets that could've passed for planks of wood. With that thought, Melanie drifted off to sleep._

* * *

Percy groaned. The light was streaming into the room but he didn't want to get up. Annabeth's arms were hugging him tightly and her face was buried in his chest. Of course he didn't want to move. But this was Percy. His luck never held out and he sighed as Annabeth started to stir, blinking her grey eyes and looking at him blearily from where she lay next to him. Percy was smiling sleepily at her and she could tell that he had just woken up a few moment ago. Annabeth smiled back and wriggled closer to him before he rolled over and she let out an indignant squeak at the movement then realized she was lying on top of him. Not strangely, she found she didn't really mind. Percy grinned at her.

"Hey, beautiful." His voice was groggy with sleep but Annabeth liked it, still rolling her eyes at the pet name.

"Morning Jackson," She mumbled as she rested her head on his chest again. As usual he wore no shirt, claiming that it felt like it was choking him while he tried to sleep. Annabeth breathed his scent in, loving the depth of it. Salty but sweet. Refreshing. Something good to wake up to in the morning. She felt him move as he shifted to put his hands behind his head comfortably.

"It's too early to be up," He complained. She smiled but he didn't see it because she hid it.

"We've got to go to camp today. And take Melanie with us." She found she liked how he sighed before coming to the conclusion that she seemed more girlish today.

"Mmhmm." His voice sounded gorgeous, humming a little with the rusty traces of sleep laced through it. She grinned and leaned up to kiss him, Percy responding immediately. Of course, they got a bit carried away not stopping until a few minutes later where Percy then proceeded to kiss her jaw lightly and she groaned, slapping his chest.

"Percy. We have to get up," She objected, trying to pull away. He just laughed and wrapped his arms around her, moving them from behind his head to around her waist. Now Annabeth really couldn't move. So she glared at him.

"Seaweed Brain! Let me go!" She tried pulling away again but froze as a crash sounded. Her eyes whipped from the door to Percy and he huffed.

"Fine. I'll go see what it is," He said, getting out of bed. He had some flannel pyjama pants on and she wondered if he remembered before laying back down against the pillows, pulling the sheets up to her chest. She really didn't feel like getting up.  
Percy walked out of their bedroom, not even bothering to change out of his PJ's or put a shirt on. He walked past Melanie's temporary room and saw the bed was messed up and empty. So he continued on to the kitchen where he heard a few more bangs and crashes. There, he found Melanie standing in the middle of a big mess. She was still wearing the pajamas they had lent her but they now had a light coating of flour and her hair was messed up. The few pans that Percy and Annabeth owned were sitting on the cooktop which was beeping like crazy and whatever was in the pans was smoking which then set the fire alarm off. Percy hurried to turn it off before turning around to the shocked girl standing in the middle of the kitchen. Melanie seemed to have just noticed him when he had sprung to turn the alarm off.

"I-" She started to attempt to explain herself. Then Percy burst out laughing. He bent over, holding his stomach, his mirth racking his body. Melanie felt her face growing redder by the minute and all Mr. Jackson seemed to be doing was laughing.

"S-sorry," he stuttered, merriment still coating his voice. "Just, sorry but if you had seen your face..." He trailed off, regaining some composure.

"I was trying to make breakfast. Obviously, it didn't work." Percy rolled his eyes.

"Obviously," he drawled. "Do you mind if I ask why?" Melanie shrugged at the words.

"For your charity," she explained. "You've both helped me a lot, even if I didn't really acknowledge it or anything." She shrugged again, trying to think of something else to say but Mr. Jackson was already nodding.

"It's cool." Someone knocked on the front door and he turned, face surprised and a little guarded.

"Now who in their right mind would be making a house call this early in the morning?" he grumbled. He walked into the living room then made his way to the door and Melanie blushed, realising he was wearing only flannel pyjama pants. She trailed after him a little ways but stopped at the couch, only four meters away from the door. She could still feel the cool breeze as it opened, revealing Joshua Right. Melanie was taken aback but Mr. Jackson appeared calm, not at all surprised and not seemingly embarrassed at being seen in just his flannies. Said teacher leaned again the open door.

"Yes?" Percy asked, raising an eyebrow. He examined the kid in front of him. Joshua was shorter by about a foot. Percy wondered how he was even counted in the jocks' group. The demigod teacher looked as if he didn't feel the biting breeze but Joshua was rugged up to the nines, glaring up at the 'teacher', a little put off by the nonchalant attitude coming from the half-naked man.

"I heard the weird chick was crashing at your place. Figured I'd drop by."

"To do what exactly?" Mr. Jackson asled as he narrowed his eyes.

"Percy?" A voice called out from behind him. Percy turned to see Annabeth, still in the tank top and shorts she had worn to bed.

"Yeah?"

"Who's at the door?" She asked. Percy glanced back at Joshua and smirked. The jock was hurriedly preening himself, brushing back his hair and smoothing his clothes. Percy snorted and cast him an amused glance before turning to Annabeth.

"Why don't you come see for yourself?" He called. Annabeth shrugged and walked over, slipping under Percy's arm which he then wrapped around her waist. She leaned against her boyfriend's side, gazing in a scrutinizing manner at the 16 year old in front of them.

"Ahh, yes. Our lovely friend, Mr. Right." Apparently the sarcasm was lost on the addressed person. He gave a charming smile, again, running a hand through his hair.

"What a pleasure Miss Chase! You look gr-"

"Cut the flirting. I only do that with my fiance. Now, why are you here?" she demanded. Joshua cracked his knuckles and Annabeth couldn't help but think of the arthritis they would get.

"I wanted to have a little chat with your boyfriend, here. Teach him a lesson for embarrassing me in front of class the other day."

"Oh really?" Annabeth asked, glancing at Percy. He looked mildly amused as he leaned against the door, arm still around Annabeth. She shot him an small, entertained smirk. Joshua shifted his feet uneasily. The high schooler noted Melanie hovering behind them, near a couch and he went to shove angrily past the two teachers but a heavy, strong arm hit his gut, stopping the forward movement. He looked up and saw Mr. Jackson's eyebrows raised.

"Now, now. I didn't invite you into my flat," the teacher said coolly.

"I didn't invite you to be my teacher but I got stuck with you anyway," Joshua shot back. Mr. Jackson heaved a huge outward sigh.

"You know," he mused, "sometimes I wonder how teachers put up with all these types of kids." Annabeth whacked his chest lightly.

"Be nice," She scolded. Percy rolled his eyes.

"I was," he tried. "Then he decided to be an as-"

"Don't finish that sentence."

"Wasn't going to!" Percy gave the 'i-meant-no-harm' sign, holding his hands up, palms facing Annabeth.

"Liar," she mumbled. He pulled her a little bit closer.

"Yeah, and you know it. Now," the son of Poseidon continued, "what are we going to do about that rouge student that's standing on our doorstep?"

"Take him with us," Annabeth responded immediately. "He knows too much besides, I have a hunch."

"And your hunches are usually correct," Percy said, sighing. "Don't blame me when I throw him out the window." Percy took a step back, keeping one arm around Annabeth, granting access for the younger man to walk in. Joshua trundled in slowly, taking in everything. There was a few shields leaning against the wall near the TV and bits of what looked like Greek armour were dumped on the couch. "Shut the door!" Joshua hastened to do so. The couple scared him more than he would like to admit. Melanie was still standing on the opposite side of the couch to the door. She blinked and half-turned towards the kitchen, opening her mouth to say something but nothing came out, possibly from shock. Joshua smirked.

"Good thing to know I've still got all the girls going speechless at my presence," he bragged. Melanie's face turned red as if was infused with cranberry juice. There was a snort from the kitchen where Mr. Jackson and Miss Chase were. Mr. Jackson stuck his head around the corner that lead to the kitchen. He was grinning widely.

"Careful with that ego, Joshie. You might not fit in my humble little home," he joked. Well, maybe to an extent. "Mel, you might want to have a bath. Second down the hall. Should have some towels under the sink." Melanie nodded and headed down the hallway disappearing from sight. Joshua cast a glance around, taking in the neat-ish setting. "Yo, Right! C'mere." The 16 year old moved towards the kitchen, an ugly scowl gracing his mediocre features.

"What?" he snarked. Miss Chase was reading something and sipping at a coffee while Mr. Jackson stood near the stove cooking something. The male teacher twisted his upper body to look at Joshua with a raised eyebrow. Wow, it seemed to his favourite look or something, Joshua thought. The 'raised eyebrow'.

"You touch anything in this house that aren't supposed to and I cut your hand off. You hungry?" Way to put someone off their breakfast. Mr. Jackson, with a deft flick of the pan in his hand, sent something flipping up then down to fall neatly back into the said cooking utensil. Joshua's face was a faint green.

"After what you just said, no."

"Your loss, man," Mr. Jackson shot back airily.

"Hey, Seaweed Brain! You're in the paper," Annabeth called.

"Give me a second." Mr. Jackson managed to turn off the stove and get whatever was on the pan, onto a plate quickly. He then walked quickly over to where Annabeth was sitting at the bench. She flipped the paper around so he could see.

HPE TEACHER HAS NERVOUS BREAKDOWN

Percy Jackson (HPE teacher at Namare High) seems to have had a nervous break down right after the last class of the day. Students in this class report that he was looking very ill when he dismissed them. Records have also shown that Percy Jackson was expelled from numerous schools during his earlier education which contradicts his current teaching status. Data states that he was absent from school for most of the year during his time as a Junior in high school. The teachers at Goode (Mr. Jackson's old school) informed us that when he re-attended school, he was depressed looking, not at all the once cheery student that had gone to Goode previously. The school nurse had suspicions of him suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), though what had induced this is unclear. Also, it is said that he had some anxiety attacks where he had completely to leave the classroom. Until further notice Mr. Jackson will be allowed to teach but, whatever this man went through during his Junior year we can only hope was not as bad as it seems.

"Gods Percy," Annabeth breathed. She looked up at him. "I-You never told me it was this bad." Percy drew in a deep breath, turning away.

"I didn't want you to worry your pretty little head over it. Besides, it honestly wasn't as horrible as they put it out to be," he explained. Joshua watched, expression-less as Mr. Jackson walked back to whatever he had placed on the plate. He pulled three plates out of a cupboard and some maple syrup from some other cupboard then proceeded to pile pancakes onto the plates. He brought the plates over to where Annabeth was sitting. She was tapping her fingers on the table subconsciously, one of her ADHD induced habits and Joshua was shoved none too gently out of the way as Melanie walked into the kitchen. She sat down at the extended bench. And looked at her plate.

"Why are my pancakes blue?" she demanded. Percy turned his head to look at her with his mouth full of blue pancake. He made a 'I'll-explain-later' gesture and turned back to continue wolfing down the, curiously blue food.

Annabeth noticed Melanie's hesitation at the colour and explained, saying, "Percy's favourite colour is blue so his mother went out of her way to make as much blue food as she could."

"Oh," Melanie muttered. "That makes complete sense." To this which Percy shrugged, rolling his eyes. The female teenager regarded her former teacher in some sort of disgust at how he seemed to shove the breakfast into his mouth. How he managed it, she didn't understand instead choosing to turn abruptly to Joshua.

"Please don't tell me you eat like him," she whined, pointing to Percy who gave her a baleful glare then made a huge effort to swallow.

"Hey! Don't go accusing me of my eating habits! There is nothing wrong with the appetite that men have!" This was Percy Jackson's indignant reply. And it made Annabeth snort.

"I feel bad for your mother, Seaweed Brain. I don't get how you can eat so much and stay fit like that."

"I'm a growing boy! At least my mother didn't complain about this subject."

"With your reputation of schooling and fighting, I'm sure how you ate was the least of her problems," Annabeth answered calmly, still eating her breakfast at a steady pace. Percy put his empty plate on the sink. The guy had gone through something close to 10 pancakes. Talk about an appetite.

"True. I'm going to go have a shower."

"You do that!" Annabeth teased causing Percy to snort as he made his out of the kitchen.

"I will!" he yelled from the hallway. Annabeth gave a soft laugh, shaking her head. She glanced at Melanie then her gaze drifted to Joshua who shifted uncomfortably at the intensity behind it. Usually he would love to have a girl's attention on him like that but Miss Chase, no. She freaked the hell out of him with those grey eyes that totally didn't match her California Girl appearance. Her gaze on him felt like it was taking all his secrets, tearing them apart, looking through them then putting them in a rough order, piecing everything together. The experience was extremely unsettling. She cocked her head to one side as if pondering a question.

"You know what I don't understand," she began, "is why you showed up on our doorstep when you should be leaving for school." Joshua shifted again.

"Uhh…"

"What?" she demanded. "I don't like being left in the dark and I really want some answers."

"Enough to give me a kiss?" the high schooler asked hopefully. Annabeth's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Obviously not," she scoffed. "I only kiss my boyfriend. Come on, you have to have a reason."

"I-I don't know! I just got a text saying to come here, address and everything."

"Give me your phone." The teacher's hand was out expectantly.

"What-? No!" Joshua took a step back in shock. His phone was like his lifeline to him. What if the crazy yet hot lady broke it? He felt his phone's pressure leave his hand where he had held it. Melanie gave him a sweet smile which he found intimidating even though she was a foot shorter than him. She handed it to Miss Chase.

"Here you go, Miss," she said. The teacher took it.

"Teacher's Pet," Joshua grumbled, glaring at the other 16 year old. Melanie glared back at him, crossing her arms over her chest. This, of course, went unnoticed by the History teacher as she inspected the phone, turning it on gingerly then flicking through the texts. Miss Chase's eyebrows raised at a few of them before she stopped at a few texts. Her already steely grey eyes seemed to darken even more.

"Ares," she mumbled. "Gotta be Ares." She then grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil, scribbling on the sheet of processed trees. But what she wrote wasn't in English. It was some sort of characters that looked well, Greek.

"What are you writing?" Melanie asked. She recognised some of the letters but not enough to understand and Miss Chase seemed to be speed writing or something.

"Hmm?" Miss Chase didn't look up for s second before looking at Melanie. "Oh. Sorry, I'm just getting a copy of these texts so I don't have to continue using Joshua's phone. Easier for us, easier for him."

"That makes sense," Melanie, muttered.

"She always makes sense!" A voice called. Percy walked into the kitchen in jeans, an orange t-shirt and shoes. The ever-present bead necklace was were it usually stayed. Tied around his neck. He trudged over to were Annabeth was, proceeding to look over her shoulder, eyes sliding across the Greek easily.

"Ares." It was one of those statements that sound more like a question. Miss Chase nodded.

"That's my thoughts too but I don't wan to jump to conclusions until we're back at camp," Annabeth said uneasily. She looked up to see Percy nodding. He stood with one hand on the back of her chair and the other on the table, looking at the paper. He took it the folded it a few times before slipping it into the pocket of his jeans. Percy then carefully pulled Annabeth's chair out.

"Come on," he said. "I want to leave soon and you still have to get dressed." His fiancé stood, stretching up to her full height, noting again Percy's height and how he was now so much taller than her. She glared at him for that very reason.

"It was better when you were shorter," she grumbled. " I used to be able to tap you on the head without having to stand on a chair."

"Mmhmm." He kissed her cheek and gently pushed her towards the door. "Hurry up, I want to get to Camp before any monsters can really catch onto our scent." Annabeth rolled her eyes as she walked. She was tempted to yell back that he was turning into one of those impatient men who were forever bothering everyone else to get going but refrained. She knew that he knew that Annabeth wanted to get to camp just as much as Percy did so best to keep quiet, she decided. She had her shower in record time, changing into jeans and a beaten old camp shirt that she had worn to death. Almost. She took her sweet time to get to the car, if only to tick Percy off some more and collect her dagger whilst slipping some greaves on under her jeans just in case some monster tried to take out her shins. Annabeth also snatched up a small shield, not much bigger than a dinner plate and Percy's watch which Tyson had fixed yet again. The big guy had also added some news scenes in the process. Generally of a big ship, etc. She locked the door behind her and jogged to the car, opening the passenger seat and sliding in.

The son of Poseidon was, of course, drumming his fingers impatiently on the wheel and annoying the two teens in the back at the same time. And Percy wasn't noticing a thing, only the fact that Annabeth finally made it to the car.

"About time," he said. Annabeth rolled her eyes, clicking her seat belt in and glancing towards the back as Percy turned the key. What she saw almost made her laugh. Melanie and Joshua were sitting as far away from each other as they could, both pushing themselves into the doors in a show to widen the unwide-nable gap. The daughter of Athena also noticed the locked doors and raised an eyebrow, turning back to the front. She felt Percy give her knee a squeeze and Annabeth looked at him.

"We're going home!" He flashed her a huge grin that made him look so child-ish, she had to laugh.

"Love you too," he grumbled but didn't quite pull it off because of the smile still plastered. He grinned even more as Annabeth took his free hand in her own. Melanie cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"Um," she started a little nervously, "what's this camp place like?" Joshua gave her this look as if to say, What the hell is wrong with you? but she ignored him. The two previous teachers shared a look, both smiling slightly.

"You'll see when we get there," Annabeth answered evasively. And so they drove. Melanie kept her face pressed against the window like a child but Joshua seemed to be glued to his phone. A fact that Percy noticed as he constantly kept shifting his head to glance in the rearview mirror with a frown. After some hours of boring driving through which Annabeth spent thinking, Melanie watching everything go by, Percy keeping focused on the road and Joshua seemingly intent on whatever he was doing on his phone, they reached a long stretch of worn road that seemed to lead out of the city and completely away from what the teens would call 'civilisation'. They were very deprived of travel, it seemed. The was a slight jerk in the car's smooth forward movement and the speed decreased drastically forcing Percy to pull over on the side of the road. He got out and walked to the back wheel which anchored the car in place. He cursed very loudly.

"Get out!" Percy ground out between clenched teeth. "We'll have to run the rest of the way while fending off damned Ornithes." Annabeth understood what he said but the two teens didn't.

"Birds that guard the god, Ares temple. They shot feather quills like this. When they reach us, try not to get shot," Percy elaborated. "And Josh? Hand over that phone for a second, would you?" Joshua did so cautiously only to watch in shock as Percy threw it on the ground and stomped on it, smashing it beyond use. The teen still didn't move as Percy and the others pushed past his stunned form.

"I-my phone!" he squeaked. It was bad enough that the HPE teacher had embarrassed him in front of the class at school but now he had also broken his phone. What was wrong with the man? He trembled some as Mr. Jackson turned to him, glaring fit to kill. He shoved the younger male.

"Yes, I broke your Gods' forsaken phone!" he snarled. "That's probably half the reason they found us! You got yourself dragged into this world and it would be a bright idea to stay away from technology. We've got another two miles or so until we get to our destination so start moving!" Annabeth took the lead with Melanie following and Joshua behind her then Percy bringing up the end. The two demigods were pretty damn fit but the teens were having some trouble keeping up, especially with Percy pushing them. They gotten maybe a little over 2kms when the screeching reached their ears. It was still faint though and they were able to cover some more ground before Melanie just stopped. She could barely keep pace anymore and her breathing was completely laboured to the point she could hardly draw breath. She stood, bent over, bracing her hands on her knees as she gasped for air and precious oxygen.

"I…can't-can't run-anymore," she squeezed out between the heaving of her lungs. She coughed. Percy frowned fiercely as he took in the situation. He could hear the screeches getting nearer.

"Annabeth, keep Melanie upright and at least walking to some extent," he panted. "Josh, you'd better keep up with them or I will personally feed you to a great white shark. I'll follow up until we get close enough to the hill. Be easier to hold them off when there's other demigods closer. Start running!" Melanie lagged terribly, so much so that Percy ended up taking her other side as well as most of her weight and practically carrying her for the next kilometre or so. When Half-Blood Hill was in a reachable distance, Percy forced Joshua to take the side he had been supporting. The son of Poseidon slapped his wrist, shield spinning out. Riptide flashed in his hand as he took up a stance, staring at the black mob of feather shooting birds. He gave a frustrated groan as he noticed iron beaks glinting in the fray.

"Tell the Apollos to bring some really loud and repulsive music!" he yelled back to Annabeth. Percy heard her muffled reply then focused on the birds. Thunk, thunk, thunk - peppered the arm with the shield which he crouched behind. He didn't bother trying to take a swing till the flock was on him. Percy didn't see the point of wasting energy and he had a vague thought, hoping that Annabeth had made it across the border safely. He could feel the Stymphalian birds trying to get at him and he sliced a few, taking out some Ornithes at the same time. Percy didn't know how long he stood his ground, fighting the evil birdies intent on killing him but the clamour of armour reached his ears as well as some song from Chiron's collection of oldies. A small wave of Ares campers took over for him and the Apollo campers were standing on the hill, calmly picking off the little beasties. By the end, Percy had pulled back completely to Thalia's tree, nursing some nasty cuts and gashes though most of the wounds were scratches, some ran deep enough to need medical attention. Percy felt Grover slip under his left shoulder and the satyr helped him stumble awkwardly down the hill to the infirmary where they saw Melanie passed out on a cot and Joshua sitting dejected over at a stool. Annabeth of course, was pacing and hurried to help Percy sit down.

"You idiot," she growled. "I thought you figured out how to avoid getting hurt so much by now." Percy shoulders twitched in a small shrug and he grinned at her for a second.

"I didn't have you watching my back that time, besides, you had these two in tow." He pointed to the teens. Annabeth just rolled her eyes and shoved some Ambrosia at him which he gratefully took. Joshua gave Percy a look of disdain but the son of Poseidon just smiled at them.

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood," he said just as Clarisse stomped in. She glared at Percy then turned to look Joshua up and down.

"This the newbie?" she snarked. Percy nodded.

"Yeah. Be my guest to get that initiation done. He's the stupidest kid of Ares I've ever met and that's saying something." Clarisse stared at him for a moment, the confusion clear on her face until Percy pointed back at the jock. A blood read boar head and spear hovered there. Clarisse looked like she was about to explode. She stormed out, cursing viciously.

"That was your half sister Joshie boy," Percy explained, smiling. "She's probably just gone to beat up some dummies in the arena." Joshua paled. He said a curse of his own.

* * *

**Okay, first of all, sorry. Term 2 was like a fricking war. The only reason I was able to post this was because I started some before we got hit with all the work and I managed to finish it now, during the winter holidays. First, my damn grades dropped, I had to start Maths tutoring and I went through 3 days of hell doing NAPLAN which was crap. You would understand where I'm coming from with that if you'd have seen the persuasive writing for this year. The way they set it out was barely setting up for persuasive writing anyway. I have to say, it was some of the sloppiest writing for NAPLAN, I've ever done and that is incredibly disappointing. **

**After that, my teachers decided that twisting our arms with tricky assignments would be nice and loaded us with homework, assignments and tests that we HAD to study for. I never really took the time to study before so I had to learn something I've never done, all part of boosting my grades back up. Right at the end of term we had to write a short story; 500-800 words. Do you know how incredibly hard it was for me to keep the damn thing under 1 000 words? The way I managed to plan it, I could've made it into a whole book or at least 5 000 - 10 000 words, at least. All that, sports day which was so boring, it's not funny. It's kind of hard to run when your knees decide they want to bail on you and sabotage what you thought was the end of growing pains. **

**I am a 14 later turning 15 year old female who, for some reason, is still growing. Then we had to see my brother off to Japan and it's very hard to write on a computer in a car that seems like it's trying to hinder you attempts at publishing something with continuous bumping. And, of course, I've got a new horse because my old one, Elmo, couldn't keep up with what I needed him to do.**

**He's 21-22 years old which is ancient for a working horse. For what he's done for me, he definitely deserves retirement. So yeah, I've been spending the last week balancing riding my new horse and getting used to him because he's completely different and playing with my little cousins. He's 7 turning 8. Who can blame the fact that he wanted to play? I rarely ever see him so, eh. Anyway, enough of my rant. Shout outs:**

**owlgirl1998**

**Ewunya**

**Seoul Sweetheart: NAPLAN was painful. It's time consuming and causes brain malfunction. Heh, well that's my view on it. :P**

**aesir21**

**thisisinga: Sorry for the long wait. Testing done, now updating. **

**Miss Starkweather**

**ADayWithNoLaughterIsADayWasted: Nice name. Totally agree with it!**

**peanutbuttre7: Hey look! I found that updating button again! Miracles do happen. :)**

**schoolsucksass: Another name I completely agree with! Thanks for the review.**

**coolmango: My updating speed has probably dropped this story down a few notches on your 'favourite scale', no?**

**ChubbyPandaz: Cheers!**

**Saraarena**

* * *

**That's it people! I can understand if you don't want to keep reading this because of my horrible ability to update. Sorry for that but just take a minute to review! Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon but the writing really took it out of me. You might have to wait another month or so. Sorry again and REVIEW, FAVE, FOLLOW...whatever you people do. **

**Please remember that I don't write for money. It's a side thing. I'm still a kid in school and I have other responsibilities that come before writing.**


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